Perchance To Dream
by seek-to-enchant121584
Summary: Derek gets the shock of his life when Casey comes to him with a request he never considered. A request he'd never even fantisized about. But he's about to start. And maybe, just maybe, she's thinking of him, too. Derek/Casey. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I'm posting this for my three year anniversary of joining this site. OMG! Three years! I don't know about you, but that's a long time for me! I've actually been kind of terrified to post this. It's one of my M-rated Life With Derek stories, the first LWD one that I've posted. And it's not like it's the first of its kind, but still. It's a lot of detail on this particular subject and it made me feel kind of weird, because it's Derek and Casey. Disney Channel, people. So, please don't leave me hanging. Let me know if it works. And I'll warn you now, it's a whopper. I hope you have enough time set aside to read this 4K word story! I may be a bit biased, but I think it'll be well worth the time it takes to read.

Music suggestions: 'Dreams' by Buckcherry, 'Save the best for last' by Theory of a Deadman, 'Straightjacket feeling' by The All-American Rejects, 'Angels' Stroke 9.

Disclaimer: Don't own LWD. Same old tale.

Perchance to Dream

"Derek, please?" Casey begged, her voice cracking in just that way that Derek knew would make him do whatever she wished. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. "Please help me."

Derek sighed wearily, looking up from his computer to see her staring at him imploringly from the doorway. _And _she was using that innocent and defenseless look that he couldn't resist anymore than the pleading hitch.

"What is it now, Space Case?" Derek asked, forcing both boredom and impatience into his tone. "I'm gonna have to start charging you an up-front, fixed rate with all the services I've been providing you lately." Derek finished nonchalantly, pushing his chair back to stand up and fixing her with a patronizing stare.

Casey looked over her shoulder nervously before stepping inside his room and shutting the door behind her. Derek raised an eyebrow in surprise. This couldn't mean anything good if she didn't want the rest of the fam overhearing. Casey took a fortifying breath and brought her gaze back up to his resolutely.

"I'm frustrated Derek." Casey stated firmly, crossing her arms over her chest as if preparing for his snarky rebuttal.

He wasn't about to disappoint.

Derek snorted derisively. "What else is new? Tell me something I don't know."

"I'm _sexually_ frustrated, Derek." Casey snapped irritably, holding her hands out at her sides.

"O-oh." Derek squeaked. Yeah, he squeaked. He'd deny it later. He wouldn't have ever guessed she'd utter something like that in his presence. "W-what do you want me to do about it?" What _did _she want him to do about it, buy her one of those impossibly unproportioned girly contraptions?

That's when a very unexpected guy thought popped into his head, and he wasn't sure what he should think about the thought of Casey laying back on her bed with a vibrator between her legs. Especially in _his_ mind.

"You see...I'd just take care of it myself," Casey began in an unsure tone, "But I can't seem to figure it out on my own. I can't find the right combination of places to touch to, well...pleasure myself and get the release I need." Casey finished quietly, looking down at her feet with a blush prominent on her whole face.

"Don't they have books or...instructional guides or...or something?" Derek argued, the flush spreading down his face and his neck as he shifted from one foot to the other nervously. This was perhaps one of the most uncomfortable conversations he'd ever had with anyone in his entire life. That included the sex talk he'd received from his dad when he was thirteen.

"Don't you think I tried every other possible avenue before coming to you?" Casey retorted defensively. "Besides, I've always been a combination learner. I need a practical demonstration."

Oh God. More thoughts he didn't need.

"Shouldn't you ask another girl about this kind of thing?" Derek asked desperately, backing away from the intent look she was now directing his way. "Like maybe Nora...or Emily? What makes you think I know anything about this sort of thing?" Derek finished anxiously, waving his hand around in emphasis. "I don't exactly have the appropriate parts."

Casey said nothing, but rather raised an incredulous eyebrow that asked, _You're kidding, right?_

"Okay, so maybe I have _some_ experience in that area." Derek relented, pinching one thumb and forefinger together a couple centimeters apart. But honestly? What did she really think he did? He'd barely skirted second base with Sally before she left for college and that was the furthest he'd ever been. With any girl. Sure, he liked making out and messing around a little, but it was an entirely other thing to sleep around. That's what university was going to be good for. "But, really Case. What are you expecting from me?"

"I want..." Casey began haltingly, the words seeming to lodge in her throat. "I want you to show me how to masturbate."

"I-" Derek began, choking on his own saliva. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Really?" This had to be some sort of trick. There was no way this conversation was really happening.

"Yeah, really." Casey replied shyly, looking up at him through her lashes.

"But...but you hate me." Derek said, disbelief tinging his words as he physically backed away from her towards his bed as she approached him.

"Derek." Casey said in a soothing tone, reaching out to him. He looked at her hand with wide eyes. "Would you stop questioning my motives and just help me?"

"But, I-" Derek tried to argue.

"Derek." Casey interrupted in a chiding tone, coming to a stop inches away from him. She smelled like the white tea body wash that sat in the top cubby above the bathtub.

"I-alright. Come here and turn around." Derek said, succumbing and holding his arms open.

Casey clapped her hands together happily and skipped around before she turned her back to him and eased into his open arms.

"Alright, I'm gonna have to ask you to be serious about this and not be too defensive if I try to touch you, agreed?" Derek asked, looking at her as he molded his arms and hands around hers. The look she directed back at him was depreciative.

"Of course, Derek. You're the one that can't keep a straight face around here. Remember?" Casey replied, settling into him slightly.

"So...I'm assuming, in theory, that you know where everything is supposed to be." Derek said, tightening his grip around her in preparation. He felt her nod against his neck. He drew in a deep breath before asking the next question.

"Which...hand would you rather use?" Derek forced out, frowning slightly in preparation of her reply.

She lifted up her left hand slightly before dropping it back down.

"Well," Derek began fitfully, unsure of what to say and fishing for words. "Looks like we have something in common."

Casey looked over her shoulder at him with a strange, unreadable expression in her eyes that Derek refused to meet.

"So, I'm just going to guide you along and instruct you what to do." Derek said into Casey's ear. She nodded in understanding.

"Alright. First off, you've got to tease yourself a little. You know, to heat yourself up." Derek began, pulling her linked hand up with his to the waistband of her sweatpants. "Just rub yourself with moderate pressure on the outside of your...um..." Derek trailed off, unable to say the word panties in Casey's presence. The situation was already too far out there. Moving her hand underneath the waistband, he guided her hand to the desired location. "Here. Remember, not too rough. Just enough to give you a little rush."

He paused at this point and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth in concentration as she tilted her head back to rest on his chest. He could feel her fingers rubbing back and forth underneath his, her index and middle finger bent further forward than the rest. He drew in another sharp breath.

"Are you aroused, Casey?" Derek breathed quietly against the shell of her ear. A breathy sigh escaped her as she nodded.

"G-good. Now I suppose you could get...off with this method, but, if you want the more direct approach we need to go inside." Derek said gently and informatively, guiding her hand up. Pressing his index finger into hers, he traced the waistband of her underwear with her finger before guiding it inside. The cotton material felt warm and stretched around the back of his hand as their joined hands sunk lower into uncharted territory.

"Now feel around a little." Derek continued when he stopped her hand in the general required vicinity. "Try and find something round-ish. You might have to search around some." He paused for a few moments to let her search.

"Any luck?" Derek asked curiously after about twenty seconds.

"I...I think so." Casey said hesitantly.

"Don't sound too confident." Derek teased lightly. Casey glared up at him. Derek schooled his face back into neutral before continuing. "Right, so try pinching it." Derek said in a sober tone.

He could feel her first two fingers moving in the instructed fashion, but the results weren't being conductive to the action.

"Are you sure you're pinching it right?" Derek asked, looking down around her head to where their hands disappeared into her pants. "Pinch, Casey, pinch."

"I'm pinching!" Casey all but growled at him fiercely. Derek _almost_ released her and backed away.

Almost.

Instead, he took another course of action. He swatted her hand away.

"You're definitely not doing something right. Let me see." Derek said authoritatively. Her hand pulled away and grasped his forearm.

He obviously hadn't thought this new direction all the way through as his fingers encountered moist..._Casey_ flesh. He suppressed a shudder as his thumb and forefinger closed around the little gem she obviously hadn't and closed his fingers around it, rubbing them together as well.

Multiple things happened at once. A surprised gasp escaped Casey's lips as her hand clenched around his forearm, her nails digging into his skin. At the same time, her knees buckled and her other hand escaped his to latch onto his neck as she started to fall.

Derek smiled victoriously.

"Now _that's_ the response I was looking for." Derek said, his lips brushing against her neck.

"Mmm..." Casey moaned, her hand tightening on his neck. "Der-ek." Casey breathed out wonderfully, her tone a mixture of pleasure and questioning disbelief.

It was like music to Derek's ears. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation when he felt her pressing into his hand, a slow rocking motion he was sure she didn't even realize she was doing.

Of course, little else would shock him at this point.

"Alright, but just this once." Derek said in response to her unvoiced question. "But then you're on your own, got it?"

"Mmmhmm." Casey breathed in agreement, her head nodding along enthusiastically.

Pulling his hands away, he backed away from her and sat on the bed. Pulling himself back to the headboard, he patted the space between his bent legs for her to sit. She climbed into his lap willingly, snuggling into his chest and resting her hands on his bent knees. Her legs opened and pressed against his. She then looked up at him searchingly.

Derek didn't move. This had to be some sort of dream.

"This is so unreal. I feel like we should draw up another one of those contracts so you can't sue me for sexual harassment." Derek joked to ease some of his nervousness.

Casey rolled her eyes.

"Derek Venturi, I, Casey McDonald of sound body and mind, give you permission to touch any part of my body that is within the context of getting me off." Casey stated seriously, her eyes alight with mirth.

Derek snorted derisively and moved his hands to her hips, still otherwise hesitant.

"What is it now?" Casey asked impatiently when he still didn't continue.

"It's just this position. It's more awkward than I thought it'd be." Derek said in reply. He'd done this before with Sally. So why didn't it feel right with Casey?

"Here. Would it help if I did this?" Casey asked, pulling each of her legs up and placing them outside of his thighs. She then looked up at him curiously.

Her flexibility and never-ending need to one-up him were going to be the death of him. He just hoped that heaven involved legs like Casey's, open and underneath him. Yeah, he was drowning fast.

"I swear you're going to be the death of me." Derek voiced out loud, leaning down to place light kisses along her neck and shoulder, dragging his hands unconsciously up and around her inner thighs.

Her legs tightened around his, forcing him to push back resistance to keep them open. As much as he liked the way she looked with her legs spread, inviting him inside to play, they couldn't stay like this. Besides, he didn't have the willpower to stay pinned behind her like this. That's part of the reason why the position didn't feel right. There was no standing, sitting, or hiding behind Casey. And if this was his one chance to touch any and every Casey part he desired, he wanted to surround her. His need to dominate Casey in this particular arena was only now slowly making its way to the surface.

"We're moving again." Derek announced, grabbing one of her ankles and holding it up so he could slide out from behind her. She frowned impatiently as she followed his shooing motion. He then laid back down beside her on his side.

"You said I can do whatever I want." Derek stated matter of factly, staring down at her intently, questioningly.

"Within context." Casey replied warily, folding her hands underneath left cheek as she faced Derek.

One of Derek's knees nudged its way between hers, bringing him partially on top of her.

"And you know I can't really help the reaction certain parts of my anatomy may have to yours, right?" Derek continued quietly, hooking his leg around Casey's left leg to pull it open further, avoiding her probing gaze as she relaxed onto her back with her arms pyramided over her head.

She hesitated before nodding affirmatively.

"And I'm going to kiss you." Derek said, his hushed tone taking on a husky timbre, bringing one hand up to cup her cheek. "A lot. It'll help me concentrate."

"How can doing two things at once help _you_ concentrate?" Casey asked, slightly entranced and teasing.

"Oh, I'm going to be doing more than two things..." Derek trailed off confidently, shifting his whole body onto hers as his lips settled into a gentle onslaught on hers.

"Mmm..." Casey moaned when Derek released her lips and moved his mouth down along her jawline and into the hair that had fanned out around his pillow. "I really liked that." Casey said distractedly, combing one hand through his hair as the other pushed its way underneath his shirt and clawed at the bare skin of his back. Derek's back arched in response, in turn, thrusting his hips to hers.

Her legs immediately shot up and wound around his thighs, affixing him to the spot. Derek froze, hovering above her on his elbows. He was glad he'd never known Casey like this before, because his mind never would have left the gutter. Not even for hockey.

"Oh my God." Casey uttered in a strangled tone, her eyes wide and sparkling like they had when she got her fairytale prom junior year. "Do that. Do it again."

"Just remember what I said." Derek whispered, leaning back down. And then he rocked back up into her again.

He quickly slanted his lips over hers to muffle to the loud, throaty moans that he'd never even thought Casey was capable of making. He continued to grind up into her in a slow rhythm, hoping to all hell that Casey didn't realize that she was turning him on almost as much as he was pleasuring her. He didn't realize he was progressively thrusting deeper until he could have sworn after one of them he penetrated her, despite all the layers between them.

It was then that he realized a couple things. One, when he angled himself so that he could look down at the spot where his boy parts were trying to enter her girl parts, a small damp spot had formed on Casey's sweatpants. This led to his first revelation-that she was wet for him, so much so that she'd probably be ready for him if they took the next step, taking him in inch by inch until he was fully seated inside of her. That led to his next realization.

He wanted to be physically inside of Casey more than he'd wanted to be with any other girl in his entire life.

His hand was already moving towards the clasp of his jeans before he'd even been conscious of shifting his weight to one arm. But there was already a pair of warm, feminine hands between them, unbuttoning and unzipping the fly of his jeans.

He realized at that point he'd never been harder in his entire life.

His erection stood to full attention once Casey eased the zipper down all the way, making a tent in his boxers.

"What are you doing, Casey?" Derek croaked out, speech a secondary action to the lack of blood and oxygen in his brain.

"I...wanted to feel you." Casey said in a jilted tone, her cheeks reddening and her gaze ducking away from his shyly.

His cock twitched in anticipation to her declaration.

"Just squeeze the base first as hard as you can until I tell you to let go." Derek managed to force out, his voice gravelly.

"Why?" Casey asked curiously, meeting his gaze again. "I've read that that restricts blood flow to the..." Casey trailed off on her prim explanation as her eyes widened in realization.

"Yeah, Case." Derek agreed to the silent realization. "I'll probably come the moment I feel your fingers on me. So do it fast. I'm ready." Derek finished, sucking in a deep breath.

A strange gurgle escaped his lips and he unconsciously thrust into the cool fist that closed around him. The familiar rush traveled up his spine until it was cut off by the painful stranglehold Casey put on him. A hiss of air escaped his lips and his head dropped into the cradle formed by the curve of her neck as he tried to look past the fact that Casey's hand was down his pants, gripping his cock so hard she threatened to make him a eunuch.

And he didn't mind one bit.

"Damn, Case. That's some grip you've got on me." Derek joked against her ear, pinching the lobe between his teeth playfully afterwards.

"Sorry." Casey murmured apologetically. Her grip slackened minutely. "Should I let go now?"

"Hell no. Not yet." Derek replied quickly. He then swatted her hand that wasn't on him back above her head.

"Derek..." Casey began uneasily. "What are _you_ going to do?"

"It's still my job to get you off, Case. And I intend to keep that particular promise." Derek reassured her resolutely against her ear, the husky timbre sending a shiver down her spine.

Nothing could have prepared her for the hand that made its way back inside her pants, shoving almost ruthlessly past her panties to touch her in a place that hadn't stopped weeping for his touch. Instinctively, her body arched into the touch, the fist unconsciously relaxing around him at the same time.

"Derek!" Casey exclaimed pleasurably, her free hand winding around his neck as she felt one of his fingers plunge into her. Pulling it back out, she whimpered at the loss until it surged back into her with the addition of a second. Welcoming the intrusion, Casey began to rock erratically against his hand, seeking the release she'd never been so close to having.

"That's it, Case." Derek whispered coaxingly, nuzzling his nose against the erratic thrumming of her pulse. "Ride me."

Casey was peripherally aware of the friction Derek was causing by thrusting into the fist she had closed around him, and adjusting the thrust of her core against his fingers to his pace in her hand. That led to thoughts of her and Derek naked, the rhythm he set thrusting into her without their hands translating.

"Derek...I...I think..." Casey bit out in a gasping tone, her voice pitched higher with every word. Derek understood her plea and slanted his lips over hers as the pleasure-induced scream escaped her, sparks emitting from her core like she'd been zapped by an electrical outlet. Her body spasmed around him, unable to contain the blast.

The strange sensation of her soft, butterfly wing-like inner walls fluttering uncontrollably around his fingers was his undoing.

For the first time since he was about twelve, Derek Venturi came in his pants.

Not entirely sure what to do with his hand, his withdrew his fingers from inside her. Instead of pulling away completely, he rubbed the well saturated digits around her swollen nub in small, gentle circles.

"Mmm...Der-ek." Casey whimpered, fully sated and relaxed. She trailed her free hand absentmindedly along the arm that was still touching her intimately.

"Better now?" Derek mumbled into her neck, the sleepy sated feeling coursing through his limbs as well. He definitely hadn't intended for everything to pan out like this, but he wasn't about to complain.

Nodding, she turned her head and looked at him with hooded eyes.

"A little." Casey admitted, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

Pressing a lazy kiss to her lips, he eased away from her slightly and increased the pressure of his fingers against her, teasing one around her entrance.

"Only a little?" Derek asked smugly, challenging her in return.

Her breath hitched, but she held her ground. A corner of her mouth twitched upward as she trailed her hand in a feather-like caress up to the head of his penis. She then let her finger dip into the ejaculate seeping down the front of his boxers.

He drew in a sharp breath and looked at he questioningly.

The innocent expression didn't quite line up with the next words out of her mouth.

"I want to know what it tastes like." Casey said matter of factly as she brought her wet fingers up to her mouth.

The painful zing of pleasure caught him by surprise as her mouth closed around her two fingers and sucked, causing him to jerk upward into a sitting position.

Looking back down at where Casey had been, he found his bed empty. His head twisted around in both directions frantically in search of her. But she wasn't there.

She never had been.

Dropping his head into his hands with his elbows propped up on his knees, he exhaled deeply.

"Oh my God." Derek moaned pitifully, disbelievingly.

He'd just dreamed about Casey. And from the hot, sticky residue coating the inside of his boxers, he really had come in his pants. He'd just dreamt a very wet, very sexually oriented dream about Casey McDonald.

The world as he knew it had just ended in a fiery explosion. A very tiny niggling at the back of his brain said that it was about damned time.

It was at this life-changing moment that the real Casey stuck her head through the crack in his door.

"Hey, are you okay? You kind of look like you're about to be sick." Casey asked snarkily, the one crafted to sound like concern.

"What do you want?" Derek croaked out impatiently, lifting his head enough to glare at her menacingly.

The snark left her to be replaced with genuine concern. Pushing the door open far enough for her to step through, she took a few steps towards him.

"Derek, is something really wrong? Is there anything you need me to do?" Casey asked, her tone gentle and probing.

"What? No. I don't need anything." Derek replied, angling his knees away from her and dropping one arm in his lap hastily. She'd already done more than enough.

She could have sworn he almost squeaked out the first word.

Confused by his attitude and body language, Casey shrugged and let the subject drop.

"Dinner'll be ready in about ten minutes and you're supposed to help me set the table." Casey stated primly, placing her hand on her hips in preparation for an argument.

His response was the last one anyone would expect.

"Sure, whatever. I'll be down in a minute." Derek muttered, shooing her away with his other hand.

Frowning, she stood there motionless for a few moments, unsure how she'd so easily won the battle.

"Are you saying that just to get rid of me? Because if you are, I'll just come for you again. You know I will." Casey finally retorted, finding her footing.

"Oh God." Derek mumbled quietly to himself in a strangled tone, the reminder like ice picks stabbing at his brain. It was too soon, the details of his dream still fresh. Running a hand fitfully through his hair, he looked up at her intently, hoping the intensity of his gaze would send her running in the other direction.

"Just. Go. Away." Derek bit out, enunciating each word.

"O-okay." Casey consented, confusion lacing the single worded reply as the dark glint in his eyes pierced through her, making her insides clench and turn in an unfamiliar way. Ducking her head, she then pivoted on one foot and took off towards the stairs.

Releasing the breath he'd been holding, Derek stretched out and stood from his bed. Pushing the door shut with his foot, he then turned and started pulling off his sweatpants. The ones Casey had been wearing in his dream, he realized with a burst of clarity.

He had quite a mess on his hands, and not just the one in his shorts. Derek Venturi just realized he had the hots for his stepsister.

And there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

ooosoooo*ooomooo*ooowoooo*oooroooo

Well...was it a surprise, finding out that Derek was just dreaming? I was hoping the title would be a hint when you came to a point as you were reading and you were like "that is so totally out of character". I'm fairly certain it's my most detailed M-rated story. Even if I didn't go all the way. I was reading the "Psy/Changelling" series by Nalini Singh around the time I wrote this, so that's part of my inspiration for the more detailed parts. Also, did you see the Sky High reference? It was the "Pinch, Casey, pinch." phrase. It was one of those lines that I knew I just had to use at some point.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Wow, I must be riding some kind of posting high, because this is the third post I've made in as many days! I love extended weekends. I should take more time off from work...yeah right. Because I just _luuvv _work so much, why would I ever purposefully want to take a day off? (Note the sarcasm, lol). So, I stopped trying to force Casey completely into character here (you'll see what I mean, wink wink). I had a lot of trouble trying make the two ideas mesh into one cohesive entity in my head. I'll leave it to your judgment as to whether or not you think it works. After so many requests to continue, I couldn't resist the challenge. The general idea formed in my brain, and I just followed the trail from there. Granted, it took quite awhile to reach the end of aforementioned trail.

On a different note, if you have any interest at all in my music suggestions, I was listening to the whole _Beneath it All_ album by Hey Monday. It was difficult to decide, considering how practically all the songs fit my mindset for this chapter, but I figured that my final decision was the one that fit the chapter best. If anyone else is a Hey Monday fan, I'd be delighted to hear your opinion on which songs from the album _you_ think best fit this chapter!

Music Suggestions: 'E. T.' by Katy Perry, 'Where is my head' by Hey Monday.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD, not even the slightest sliver of a percent.

Perchance to dream: Casey

If there was one thing that Casey didn't understand about sex, it was why men got the simple route to masturbating. If one took a feminist perspective, one could say that men wouldn't be able to understand much more than that, and that women were the ones that typically had more patience for figuring out such things.

She could understand that, but unfortunately, it didn't make matters any easier for women like her, women that just could _not_ climax from touching themselves. Besides, how was it that, according to countless romance novels, men always seemed to know exactly how to pleasure a woman before they had sex?

She shouldn't be having a problem with this. She was a grown woman, eighteen years old, in harmony with her own body. So why was it so difficult to make it sing in pleasure? She'd had the prerequisite health class with the almost mortifying, yet clinical, sex ed chapter. She'd read more than her fair share of tips on the subject from the Cosmo magazines she snagged from Emily after she'd finished them. She knew where everything was. It should not be as complicated as she was making the subject of masturbation out to be.

So how'd it turn out that the only way she could successfully pull it off, she had to think of Derek?

It had been quite accidental the first time. It'd been early morning, the sun shining weakly through her curtains, with her on the edge of wakefulness and unwilling to let go of a really satisfying dream. It'd been the dream that left her feeling slightly aroused, so while she was still comfortable and hidden under her sheets, Casey tentatively pushed one hand under her shirt to knead one breast and the other beneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms.

She'd always felt a small twinge of uneasiness every time she touched herself, as if it were wrong to be doing such an act. Perhaps that was why she could never get it right before; she couldn't fully get into the activity if she wasn't completely at ease with it. However, Gerard Butler was on to something in The Ugly Truth when he informed Katherine Heigl's character, Abby, that if she didn't like touching herself, how could she expect a man to?

Somehow, something had been different that morning. She tried to dredge up what her dream guy had looked like, but could only recall brownish hair tickling her skin and strong, yet wiry hands caressing her with callused fingertips. Perhaps that is how Derek appeared in her mind, giving her the confidence and a challenge to prove herself: he had similar features. Regardless the reason, Derek worked his way past her defenses, once again in the wrong place at the wrong time as she felt the first tingle of pleasure blossom in the pit of her stomach.

So, after only a moment's hesitation, she went with it. Surprisingly enough, it hadn't been nearly as difficult or disgusting as she'd originally planned it would be.

She could easily feel his weight on top of her, used to and familiar with the feeling through various physical altercations over the years. He'd only lay close enough for her to feel his heat and strength surrounding her, but not enough to crush her as his mouth coaxed hers into opening. He'd never intentionally try to suffocate her...well, _physically_ anyway. Psychologically was a whole other story. One of his legs would wedge between hers, pressing his pelvis into her outer thigh with his knee just under her opposite thigh, that leg rising and bending to accommodate as her pinned leg turned slightly to adjust. She was very proud of her flexibility at that point. Later on in her fantasy her fantasy Derek also appreciated that flexibility very much.

Of course, the real Derek had never been outwardly adverse to said flexibility as far as she could recall.

Her arms would be secured around his shoulders, caressing the slim, yet defined muscles that lurked beneath surprisingly smooth skin. Derek's hands would be under her shirt, reminiscent of the phantom fingers she remembered from her dream as they ghosted along her sensitized chest, pinching and rolling her nipples between his fingers.

His unruly hair, that was long overdue for a trim, would brush over her skin as it followed its owner on his indecisive quest to find a place to rest his lips. One of his hands would go to her hip as his other pushed her shirt up, the rest of his body sliding down hers to accommodate his mouth latching onto one of her breasts. A renewed sense of indecision would arise as his mouth would close over one nipple, pay the proper homage before moving on to the other, attend to that one as her back arched and her entire body hummed with an almost painful pleasure, before releasing and pulling back to slant his lips over hers, kissing her with a deep and leisurely focus. As if he had nothing better in the world to do than lay in bed with her, with no other place he needed to be.

Of course, what hot-blooded male _would_ pass up the opportunity to do naughty things with a good-looking woman?

She would forget about the hand on her hip until it was untying her drawstring pants, making its way into her panties with an ease that said he knew exactly what he was doing and that nothing, or no one, was going to stop him. And then he'd be there, pressing into her, teasing her. For the lack of a better phrase, entering her combination.

What sealed the deal was his almost obsessive drive to please her, to make her feel as if her every nerve ending was sparking with ecstasy. He'd surround her, never let up, keep challenging her until she tumbled over the edge, and even then, stroke her until she came down.

Her first orgasm took her by surprise, her startled cries of pleasure muffled by the hand she wasn't using to pleasure herself.

And when she heard the floor creak outside her door, she really hoped that it was just the house shifting.

It was as if the section of her brain dedicated to pleasure was dead-set on Derek. She tried to think of every other guy she'd ever dated, even Truman. It took her days to recover from that particular experiment, leaving her with a queasy feeling. Even Derek took enough notice to question her sickly hue. Not even thoughts of Max worked, and Max was probably the dreamiest guy she'd ever dated. Thinking of doing things like that with any other guy just left her feeling unsure, vulnerable. She had no idea why Derek was the only guy she could think... "off color" thoughts about and not feel guilty or embarrassed. When she thought of him like that, it was invigorating, and thrilling in ways that perplexed the more logical sections of her brain.

So, in a moment of weakness, she decided to continually feed that neglected section of her brain, disregarding the consequences that could arise from that decision.

It wasn't until the fourth time that thoughts of being naked with Derek worked their way into her fantasies. The other times, it had been all about her. They had both remained fully clothed in her other fantasies, with only her shirt, or skirt, pushed up. The fourth time around, though, she thought about doing a lot more than that.

It had been the first sex dream she'd ever had. Sure, she'd dreamed and thought about kissing plenty of times. But sex had been another entity altogether, her subconscious shying away from such thoughts.

It'd all felt so real in the dream. From the fight over the remote until the heavy making out in his recliner, and them dashing up the stairs to his bedroom.

She'd wanted to watch a biography about the Russian princess Anastasia and the new evidence they'd uncovered about her identity. He'd wanted to watch a rerun of the hockey game he'd missed the night before, due to his own hockey match. She started off with the remote until he snatched it out of her hand right as she aimed it towards the TV. She screeched his name in that usual infuriated tone, leaping off the couch and landing on top of him as he laughed and dodged her attempts to retrieve it.

Somehow, both her hands and his would end up behind him in the chair, her cheek pressed up against his as she searched behind his back for the object he was keeping from her. The rest of her body would be pressing into his, her hips lined up perfectly as her legs straddled his. It wasn't until he let out an unintentional groan that she would realize what kind of compromising position they were both in, with one of her hands somehow clutching his jean-clad backside as her other hand had followed his down behind the cushion of the now fully reclined recliner.

Not fully in control of her body, her hips would roll and shift into a bulge in his jeans that, she was surprised to discover, was Derek's own arousal. Biting her lower lip, she'd cut off the startled sound of pleasure that their grinding had just caused. Forgetting the remote, Derek's hands would dart out from their hiding place as they settled in on her hips, pushing them both into an upright position as his mouth surged forward to connect with hers. His hand would grasp one of hers and push it between them, urging her hand to massage his reaction to her. His kiss would be hot and erotic, the type of kiss that was a sure giveaway sex was soon to follow.

And the sex with Derek her brain created rivaled the steamiest romance novels in her mom's hidden collection.

Both naked, he'd settle between her welcoming open legs, blanketing her with reassurances and words of comfort as he pressed into her in an inexorably slow pace. The protection she insisted he don, even though it was just a fantasy, felt cool and slippery as he entered her. Once fully seated inside her, his face would burrow into her neck as he paused to allow her virgin muscles to adjust to the intrusion he'd just forced upon them.

Since it was her fantasy, the sharp, intense pain she'd originally expected was nothing more than the barest of pinches. Something more akin to being poked with a safety pin than a heated blade stabbing you repeatedly. And, just to be clear, she wasn't equating Derek's...manhood to a safety pin. She didn't know the exact measurement, but Emily had unwittingly given her a roughly just-above-average estimate during one of her detailed rehashings of a heated second-base interaction.

She'd inform him of her quick readiness in the form of tugging gently on the long strands at the base of his scalp, as she brought one leg up to clench around his behind and the other around his thighs.

Smiling at him softly when he'd look up at her with unmasked surprise, he'd recover his wits and start to move.

Being more on the lean and lithe side, he sure did know how to use what he had, and despite how she regularly criticized his slight frame, she appreciated how compatible their bodies were. She particularly delighted in the feel of his chest rubbing against hers, and how the hard, flat nipples on his chest grazed along hers.

It was a rather interesting experience when, after a few minutes with him on top, he rolled them over without warning. Still nestled deep within her, Derek would look up at her from his new position on his back, a suggestive expression pasted on his face.

"Ride me like a cowgirl, Case." Derek said in a husky voice, smoothing his palms up and down her outer thighs. "Please, Casey?" Derek begged, a hint of insecurity entering his tone when she didn't immediately move.

"Only because you asked so nicely." Casey finally relented, a small, victorious smile lighting up her features as she trailed a finger down his cheek. Feeling bold and full of womanly power, she held his chin firmly and made his gaze lock with hers. "Are you going to watch me ride you?"

Nodding his head affirmatively, Derek's eyes glazed over, completely under her spell. Bringing her arms over her head, she locked her knees against Derek and slowly began to rise. Closing her eyes, she could almost picture Derek's eyes avidly fixated on where their bodies joined as she sank back down, inch by slow inch. His fingers clenched almost painfully into her thighs as she lifted herself almost completely off of him and began again. And again.

Needy sounds of desperation repeatedly escaped Derek's lips unbidden as she kept her pace slow and shallow, only taking about half of his sex inside of her before sliding back up. Casey bit her lower lip and a few needy pants passed her own lips when Derek's hips started rising up of their own accord to meet hers, sinking to the hilt inside of her. Resting her hands back on his shins, she decided not to punish him for getting impatient. Instead she rewarded him with the view from her changed position above him, increasing her pace.

She concentrated on the feel of him as he pulsed back and forth, swelling against her tender flesh, stroking a place deep inside her that made her body sing. In an effort to maximize the effect, Casey unconsciously bent back further, her back arching and her head falling back limply. Crying out sharply as his next thrust suddenly rasped against the front of her sheath, Casey felt Derek's legs against her back, pushing her up to a more comfortable angle. Her eyes shot open and locked onto Derek's as it felt like her control was slipping, making her hips twitch erratically into his.

Chanting incoherently, her voice incrementally rose as the tide began to pull back in preparation for something equally exciting and devastatingly powerful to crash into her. Derek sat up quickly, his legs falling to the sides as his mouth latched onto hers hungrily, banding his strong arms around her in a secure embrace as the tide swept in without warning. Like a crack in a large dam, sensation exploded through her body, bursting and washing over her in an almost terrifying way as it decimated every nerve ending and functioning brain cell in its all-encompassing path.

As Casey struggled through the aftermath of the most intense orgasm she'd ever had, she felt Derek thrust into her one last time. Holding her hips in an iron-like grip as his back arched, he came inside her, his hips jerking involuntarily as he emptied his seed into her.

His chest rising and falling like a bellows, he collapsed onto his bed, pulling Casey down on top of him. Sinking into the warmth that radiated from him, Casey sighed blissfully and closed her eyes, her entire body taking on the consistency of freshly melted wax as she molded her body along the contours of his.

As she succumbed to the call of exhausted slumber, Casey felt Derek mumble five heartfelt words into her ear.

"I love you, Casey McDonald."

Those five innocent words startled her into wakefulness, aware of the fierce pounding of her heart and the intense, pulsing throb she felt at the apex of her thighs that she now knew signaled the aftereffects of a climax.

Sitting up and scrubbing her hands over her face, she considered how special those words made her feel. How they left more of a reeling impact than the actual thought of having him inside of her, sharing the most intimate act between two people. Those words made her heart ache with longing at how impossible it would be, hearing those precious words pass his lips in reality.

An overwhelming sense of despair descended over her, and she burst into tears. She wanted something she could never have: the love and companionship of a man, that, for all intents and purposes, was her egotistical, spiteful brother by marriage.

Adding the proverbial cherry on top, in less than two months, they'd be going off to Queens together. Sharing a cramped student apartment together. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she buried her face into her knees and sobbed harder.

She was in way too deep.

oouoomooo*ooocoooaoo*oosoooeoo*

Oh my God! I am such a meanie for doing what I did to Casey! Looking back to when I first started writing this, I hadn't planned on ending on such a depressing note. Aside from that, though, what'd you think? (Waggling eyebrows) Pretty intense, right? My friends would be absolutely shocked if they found out that I could think those kinds of thoughts, lol. I'm telling you, this past Thanksgiving extended weekend did me a lot of good! Hope you liked! And don't fret too much, this isn't the _end_ end. More will come eventually (pun intended)! Some more food for thought: the floor creak Casey heard, do you think it was just the house shifting...or could it have been Derek passing by her room for some unknown reason? I should say, which would you prefer it to be?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I thought that in celebration of this "lovely" weather across the midwest today, I'd post this. I spent the time I had off from work editing this chapter. Bad weather can be a blessing once in a while, right? It should all come together by the next chapter, just wait and see! This one's a bit on the short side, because the finale just _has_ to be in Casey's POV. Seriously, it refuses to be written in Derek's, and I've been doing fairly well keeping each chapter's POV focused on one character. It doesn't happen often. And seeing as how I'm going back and forth regularly between Derek and Casey, this one is Derek's. I hope this will tide you over until the next chapter.

Music suggestions: 'Dirty little secret' by The All-American Rejects, 'Everything' by Buckcherry.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own LWD. I, for one, believe in happily ever afters.

Perchance to Dream 3: Derek

They were about two months into their first semester at Queens when Derek accidentally discovered Casey's unlisted extracurricular activity, that occurred in her bedroom, at night. During the same occurrence, he discovered that Casey had porn star potential in the vocal department.

But then again, it wasn't technically the first time; rather the first confirmed, without a doubt, encounter. He could still remember her muted cries as he passed by her bedroom door early one morning on the way back from the bathroom...perhaps one of the most enlightening moments of his life. As feministically self-sufficient as Casey made herself out to be, he'd always thought she was all talk. It was then, however, that he realized that on an intimate level, she really _didn't_ need a man. Or, more importantly, she didn't need _him_.

At that point, he wasn't sure what he felt more: turned on by the images his brain produced of her hiding under her covers with her hand between her open legs, or regretful disappointment that she'd actually been able to figure it out on her own...without his guidance.

A guy could dream. She rarely ever left his.

He still regretted stepping on that damned betraying board just outside her door, it had been such a rookie mistake. And the dash he made for his bedroom would have been comical had anyone seen him in such a panicked state. Especially considering the fact that he supposedly _didn't_ panic over anything. It probably would have made the news.

But she didn't investigate, and for that, he was grateful.

Back to the college encounter. He learned a couple things from his more recent discovery. First, getting home early and not notifying Casey of the change was probably one of the smartest ideas he'd ever had. Second, Casey had ears like a hawk, for the most glorious-sounding moaning and mind-numbing chanting ceased the moment he shut the door behind him. Before his paralyzed arm dropped his hockey bag to the floor with a resounding thud, shocked into a stupor from the dumbest luck he'd ever been on the receiving end of twice now in his young life, Casey was pulling on a robe as she opened her bedroom door, her flushed face the only evidence of what she'd been doing seconds beforehand.

Which had been pleasuring herself. Masturbating. _Touching_ herself.

He was pretty sure he was going to have an aneurysm, if his brain didn't leak out of his ears first. Casey tended to have that effect on him.

"Der-ek! You're home early. You should have called me, dinner could have been on the table by now! I only just put the casserole in the oven about twenty minutes ago." Casey chastised as she tied the belt on her robe, effectively covering her white camisole top and pink lounging shorts, swatting Derek on the arm as she passed him on her way to the kitchen.

"I..." Derek began, only to stutter to a silent halt as his brain attempted to process what had just occurred. His face scrunched in concentration as he stared at the floor in front of Casey's door, rooted to the spot just inside their front door. Was that the hand she used...?

"It's gonna be about another fifteen minutes, at least." Casey yelled out informatively from the kitchen. Standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, Casey pulled the oven mitts from her hands and tossed them onto the counter next to the oven. Brushing her hands on the front of her robe, she finally looked up at Derek, taking in his frozen stance.

"You..." Derek began again, attempting, yet failing to force more than the one word past his lips. Pointing towards her room, he cleared his throat and tried again. "What were you..."

"I was exercising." Casey supplied quickly, answering his question before he could finish fishing for words. Smiling gently with a mix of shameful embarrassment, she glanced down at the floor and shrugged one shoulder. "It's a new workout I'm trying. I just got a little carried away, I guess. If you heard anything, that is. Are you feeling alright?"

He physically shook himself out of the trance-like shock he'd been in, his eyes darting up to meet her concerned, albeit barely concealed panicked, ones.

"Casey, I can't believe dinner isn't ready! I'm already the smallest guy on the team, there's no need to add insult to injury. I'm going into food deprivation shock over here, and my body's doing whatever it can to preserve energy. I'm on the brink of complete shutdown, and it's all your fault." Derek complained dramatically, kicking off his shoes so he could flop down onto the couch theatrically. "I'm pretty sure I've actually _lost_ weight since I've been here. It's probably your fault."

Casey rolled her eyes as she pulled a candy bar from one of her robe pockets.

"Just probably?" Casey quipped in a dry tone, raising her eyebrows as she leaned over the back of the couch and directed a withering glance at him. "That's why I grabbed this from your hidden stash from the top shelf over the refrigerator." Casey finished, dropping the caramel-filled chocolaty goodness on his head before turning on her heel and going back to her bedroom.

oooeooooo*ooosoooooo*oooxooocoo*

It was another couple of months before he was notified that he wasn't the only one listening in on Casey's wood-inspiring extracurricular activity.

The way their apartment building was laid out, all the bedrooms were situated one right next to the other, furthest back from the front door, on the outside wall. Two dudes from Newfoundland resided in the apartment next to Casey's bedroom. One of them was actually pretty cool to hang out with. The other was a total drag, artsy like Casey, but with the pompous asshole attitude you'd expect from a guy that had his head stuck up his ass.

Thankfully, it wasn't that one that pulled him aside after his Intro to Photography class one frigid December afternoon close to midterm. It was Brent, the rugby playing, fellow girl-chasing, cool one.

"Hey, D." Brent greeted Derek, nodding his head away from the congested hallway as he pulled Derek from the main flow of traffic. He waited until the hallway was nearly deserted before he continued in a more subdued tone. "We understand you and your girl are still in the honeymoon stage of your relationship and that your fine-looking woman makes some of the sexiest sounds I've ever heard, but could you please ask your better half to perhaps tone it down for the rest of the week? Both Thomas and I got mid-terms to study for."

"Uh...yeah, sure." Derek stuttered in a perplexed tone, struck speechless by the request. Not only forgetting to deny the relationship status Brent had implied, but that he and Casey weren't even making the sex sounds together.

Slapping him on the back sympathetically, "Don't forget about the party next Friday. Bring Casey. Thomas wants to talk shop with her." Brent smirked and jogged off to his next class.

Derek could only imagine how that particular conversation about masterbating would go.

"_Casey? You know how lately you've been pleasuring yourself a lot? Well, I can kind of hear you, and it really turns me on. So much so that I usually end up jacking off in the bathroom, fantasizing about you. Now our neighbors are complaining about us keeping them up at night. So, I don't know...could you maybe try and keep it to only the breathless gasps and quiet mewling sounds? Or maybe, if you wanted, I could join you, help you muffle those noises as you made them? Just a thought."_

If she didn't actually knee him in the crotch on the spot, she would definitely girl-smack him into the fetal position and have him pleading for his life.

In the end, he just kept his mouth shut and willed Casey to focus more on her keener tendencies than her horizontal ones.

Just once...just once, though, he wanted to be the cause of those sounds. And he didn't care how loud they were.

ooaooocoooo*ooovooowooo*ooeoooooooo

Wow, I'm in a very peculiar mood as of late! I'm not really in a position to be making promises, but I'll work real hard to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, so I don't leave you all hanging. I know that used to drive me absolutely bonkers when I did more reading fanfiction than writing. Now...unfortunately, I've started picking up all their bad habits. If only I didn't have to pay bills and be "self-sufficient", lol. Until next time...


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Hey, everybody! It's spring forward tonight (March 12-13). I'm not exactly thrilled about this time change. I'd take fall back any day. Now, don't be too mad, but I made this a two-parter. There's plenty of Dasey goodness in this chapter to tide you over until I post the _conclusion_-conclusion. Let's just say that in this chapter, they get to snuggle.

Music suggestions: 'Every time you turn around' by Daughtry, 'Do you wanna touch me (oh yeah)' by Glee Cast, 'Shut up and kiss me' by Orianthi.

Disclaimer: LWD does not belong to me.

Perchance to Dream: The Conclusion, Part I

It was on a night deep into the month of February that a few of Casey's dreams finally came true. Unfortunately, she had to suffer through below freezing temperatures with no power to get to that point.

ooouoooooo*ooocooooo*oooaooooo

Casey laid curled up in a tight ball under her blankets, shivering and considering why her room was so cold. When she'd gone to bed at ten, the furnace had been chugging along steadily, keeping their apartment at a comfortable 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, four hours later, she'd groggily awoken to crisp, _cold_ air being pulled into her lungs and a visible cloud of air forming with every exhale.

Something wasn't right, but it was already a challenge keeping warm where she was and she didn't feel particularly inclined to climb out of bed, only to get colder, without the promise of heat.

A tentative knock sounded on her door, interrupting her thoughts. At her muffled acknowledgment, Derek padded into her room and sat at the foot of her bed, visibly shaking as he pulled his own comforter tighter around his shoulders.

"Ice storm knocked out the power around one-thirty. Jess just called to tell me everyone's heading down to the common area, fireplace is going, and the admins are having generators and space heaters dropped off to as many dorms as they can on such short notice. Do you wanna head down there? It'll be warm..." Derek explained, the last sentence made to sound coaxing.

"I-I'm s-s-so c-cold." Casey stuttered out pathetically, peeking her head out from underneath her two blankets. Even then, her teeth were chattering.

"Aww...my poor Space Case." Derek murmured sympathetically, almost endearingly. Standing, he held up a finger to indicate he'd be right back, turned, and dashed out of the room.

Retreating back underneath her cocoon of bedclothes, she hid there until she heard Derek crashing back into her room. With only her eyes surfacing, her fingers curled around the edges of her blankets, she watched as Derek tossed the throw from their couch over her feet. Observing him in a detached manner, Casey stared as Derek hurriedly spread his heavy down comforter across her bed.

"What are you doing?" Casey asked around her shivering teeth and body.

"Scoot over. I'm coming in." Derek said authoritatively instead, nudging her left side through the layers covering her.

She was so cold and tired, she didn't even try to argue, instead shifting further to the right of her double bed. A rush of frigid air swept into the space she'd just vacated as Derek lifted up the multiple layers and hopped in.

"Someone had better watch his hands." Casey muttered as threateningly as she could muster around chattering teeth.

"Is there someone else in this bed that I don't know about?" Derek asked mock-seriously, quickly peering over her to the other side of the bed. "Because as keener as you make yourself out to be, you're not too bright if you still haven't figured out how far from my usual type you are." Derek finished dryly, gathering Casey in close to his chest, as much for his benefit as hers.

Burrowing her nose into the hollow of his neck, Casey sighed blissfully as she molded the rest of her body around Derek's. "Mmm...you're so warm, Derek. Better than a heating blanket and a hot water bottle combined." Casey breathed out the words on a moan, the words slipping past her lips involuntarily.

Other than his heart stuttering a few beats at her easy capitulation, Derek otherwise remained outwardly unaffected by Casey's closeness. Needless to say, though, he was struck dumb for a few seconds after her declaration before he could string together a proper comeback.

"Jeez, Case. I know you're cold-blooded by nature, but holy crap your nose is cold." Derek complained in response, at the same time tightening his arms around her and rubbing his hands back and forth against the back of her pajama shirt.

"Shut up, Derek." Casey snapped back sleepily, fisting her hands into the front of his long-sleeved sleepshirt. Quickly nodding off, one of her legs forced its way between his, rubbing against his crotch as she settled in, her leg effectively twining around his.

Sucking in a deep breath of freezing cold air, Derek squeezed his eyes shut and silently muttered a curse to the ceiling, her simple gesture leaving him semi-hard and unable to do anything about it.

It was going to be a really long night.

ooosooooo*ooeoorooo*oowooooooo

Not quite sure when she'd finally dozed off, Casey woke up again abruptly when her pillow began shifting beneath her. Acting instinctively, Casey clamped her arms around the squirming object, her leg automatically making the same movement to trap and hopefully quell the object's desire to abandon her.

It was then that she became fully aware of the fact that pillows weren't supposed to move. Keeping her eyes closed, she then focused on the strangest sensation between her parted thighs. First off, she distinctly recalled having her leg between his before drifting off. Now, it was hooked over both of his, her legs open and the rest of her body mostly on top of him. Something firm and..._very male _was pulsing in tandem to the throb that had awakened between her legs when her body subconsciously recognized Derek. She mentally patted herself on the back for her body's subconscious clinging. And also had to physically restrain herself from opening her legs wider and rubbing against him like a cat in heat, which would no doubt satisfy the ache in her core, but would be decidedly awkward for both parties afterward.

"Casey?" Derek pleaded in a low, husky tone that Casey had never heard before.

"Yes, Derek?" Casey queried in reply, affecting a casual tone. Despite the fact that she was literally tangled up around Derek like a terrified octopus, cradling his unmistakably obvious reaction to her body's attachment.

"Any particular reason why you're keeping me prisoner?" Derek returned in the same tone, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Where are you going? It's still cold." Casey questioned pitifully, uncaring of how desperate she sounded.

"I...don't know about you, but nature's calling." Derek replied slowly, as if choosing his words carefully.

"Oh my God, what is _that_?" Casey asked in an affronted tone, flicking her hips up and down his length minutely to indicate what she was referring to, as if just realizing he had an erection. She mentally preened again and sucked her lower lip between her teeth when she felt him breathe in sharply, his muscles tighten in his back, and his hips unconsciously rock forward to rub against her.

"It's _morning_." Derek explained after a ten second pause, in an exasperated tone, as if she were mentally disabled.

"What makes this part of the day so special?" Casey grumbled off-hand as she released him, already regretting the action as he rolled away and she immediately began to shiver. Reluctantly, she couldn't deny that he had a point about the whole bathroom thing and tugged the throw over her shoulders, climbing out of bed as well.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm a guy, not a biologist! It just happens." Derek exclaimed over his shoulder as he hurriedly made his way down the hall.

Casey trailed along in his wake at a slower, contemplative pace.

"Does it go away once you urinate?" Casey questioned curiously, leaning against the wall beside the bathroom door, mostly completely serious.

Derek yanked the door open a few moments after her question, staring at her with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Casey!"

"What?" Casey asked guiltlessly, her expression innocent. She pulled the throw even tighter around her quivering frame and met his gaze resolutely. "Just making conversation. By the way, I'm _still_ cold and I wanna go back to bed."

He held her gaze with an unreadable expression for a few tension-filled moments, as if assessing how to proceed.

"Don't say another word. I'm trying to _urinate_." Derek commanded finally, putting air quotations and a snooty tone over his regurgitated use of her word. Then he shut the door.

Pursing her lips in an effort to hide a smile, Casey slid down the wall into a crouched position and wrapped the throw around her legs as well.

After an undeterminable time, the door reopened and Derek emerged. "Hurry up, Casey, it's freezing out here!" Derek recommended as he rushed past her.

Casey watched Derek until he disappeared into her bedroom before rising from her crouched position and stretching her stiff muscles. Entering the bathroom, Casey winced as the cold tile leeched through her insulated socks and closed the door. Padding over to the toilet, she lifted the lid and ensured that Derek had flushed before he left, nodding her head with approval when she saw that he had.

He could, in fact, be taught.

She then, very reluctantly, pulled down her pajama bottoms and panties and gingerly lowered herself onto the seat.

Completing all the required functions, Casey quickly pulled all her clothes back into place, closed the lid, and flushed. Moving to stand in front of the mirror, Casey blew a wisp of hair out of her face and glared at her rumpled reflection as she washed her hands. It was beyond too cold to do much about her appearance, but there was _no way_ she was going back into her bed in this state. Especially if Derek was waiting there for her.

Grabbing a washcloth, she dampened it and cleaned her face. Holding the cloth in front of her face with a bemused expression after she finished scrubbing, Casey then looked down at the drawstring closure of her pajamas. Making a quick instinctive decision, Casey blew a few hot breaths into the washcloth and widened her stance. Looking back down, she then pulled her bottoms and panties away from her body and eased the washcloth gently between her legs. Swiping the cloth from front to back a few times, she brought the washrag back out, rinsed it in the sink, and tossed it in the dirty hamper.

Her brain was defensively trying to scramble together a plausible explanation that didn't involve Derek's mouth or hands touching her there as she swished a cap-ful of mouthwash.

After she finished with her rudimentary primping, Casey fretfully combed her fingers through her hair one-handedly before turning on her heel and hurrying back to what she hoped was Derek's waiting embrace.

When would another opportunity like this ever arise in her lifetime?

She almost tripped over her own feet as she abruptly decelerated a few meters from her door. Clutching the throw around her shoulders nervously, she forced her chin up as she drew in a deep, cold breath and stepped over the threshold.

"Jeez, Case. I was about to send out a search party." Derek scolded incredulously as she closed the door behind her.

"Aww...concerned, were you?" Casey replied in a deadpan tone as she looked down at Derek when she neared the edge of the bed.

"Like I said, Casey. It's really cold and you're the only cuddle buddy I've got at the present. Besides, you're not so bad once you thaw out." Derek returned, teasing her at the end.

"And how would you know if I was completely thawed out?" Casey asked boldly, an eyebrow rising in question as she uncrossed her arms to situate the small blanket at the foot of the bed. Her gaze left his to straighten the blanket and missed the surprised expression flit across his face.

"I..." Derek began, only to snap his mouth shut when no other appropriate words were forthcoming.

She was a lot better at unsettling Derek using sexual undertones than she thought.

"At a loss for words?" Casey asked superciliously, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for Derek to catch up and let her back into bed.

As if coming to a decision, his gaze flickered down to the end of the bed for a second before slowly returning to hers with a familiar expression. Well, she should say she recognized _two_ expressions fused together in a hybrid she was certain only she'd ever witnessed. Only one of the two had ever been directed at her, hence the first recognized, well-known condescending. The other expression, however...well the other threw her, figuratively, right off her feet.

"You're right. What's the best way to find out?" Derek asked with a charming smile, challenging her sanity with a mixture of playfulness and heat swirling in his intense scrutiny of her. He folded down the edge of the covers closest to her, patting the space beside him.

She may try to deny that she felt anything at all towards Derek, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew there was a line they'd been due to cross for months, a barrier she was willing to let be broken before the next time they left this bed, and she had to tread very carefully.

"I don't know, Der. You aren't exactly known for keeping secrets. If I tell you, can I trust you to not share this information with all your friends?" Casey questioned in a reticent tone, climbing in beside him and pulling the blankets up to her chin.

Laying down, he turned on his side to face her and propped his head on his hand. Looking pensive, he stared meaningfully into her eyes until she felt like squirming uncomfortably and ducking his gaze. Finally, he spoke.

"I swear to you I won't. In fact, I don't think you should tell any other man what you're about to tell me. You haven't, have you?" Derek replied, his question hesitant as a frown creased his forehead.

"Do you want to be the only one? The first one I've shared this with?" Casey asked demurely, staring steadfastly at her fingers clenching the fabric in her hands.

"Would you be upset if I said yes?" Derek returned in a guarded tone, his voice hushed and tentative.

Casey turned her head sideways, meeting his eyes again.

"No." Casey said gently, a reassuring smile tilting the corners of her mouth upward.

"Just to be clear." Derek said, fighting back a wide grin of his own as he shifted closer to her. "I can kiss you now?"

"For starters." Casey replied brazenly, pulling her hands under the covers and clasping them against her chest. "There are other steps involved in the process, after all."

Derek's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, as if disbelieving his own lucidity. They then settled back into their usual place.

"Can we get started on the first part, then?" Derek asked mock-seriously, leaning in imperceptibly as his tongue darted out to moisten his lips.

Nodding assertively, Casey pulled her lower lip between her teeth to moisten her own.

Derek's gaze fell to her mouth, as if captivated by the sight.

"Did you brush your hair?" Derek asked in an distracted tone, his eyes not leaving her lips.

"Kind of." Casey admitted quietly, her own gaze dropping to his mouth.

"Shouldn't have bothered." Derek murmured in the same distracted tone, resting one hand next to her head as he slanted his own closer.

Reaching up, Casey sank her fingers into his hair at the base of his scalp and impatiently hauled him down to her, her lips parting in anticipation two seconds before they latched onto his. His mouth opened to her without an ounce of hesitation, pliant and eager to please the woman beneath him.

Her mouth sipped at his, releasing his lips briefly before seeking them out again, her mouth enveloping his. His mouth settled more firmly into hers, pressing her body deeper into the mattress as his upper body shifted into a position more flush with hers. A thrill of delight shot through her and her free hand snuck underneath the back of his shirt, clutching the bare skin of his back. Her fingers tensed against his scalp, her thumb pressing into the flesh below his right ear as her fingers bunched his hair in her hand, hanging on for dear life as she felt his tongue hesitantly reach out, seeking hers.

Sighing blissfully, Casey retreated a few millimeters and opened her eyes. After a couple seconds, Derek's opened as well, warming her from the inside out with his enthusiastic and heady expression, the left corner of his mouth twitching upward as they stared heatedly at each other.

Pushing Derek onto his back, Casey pulled the covers halfway over their heads, and dove back in.

oooaoooo*oowoooeoo*ooomooooo

I really didn't want to break this up, but it's already a monster! And..._AND_ I haven't even got to all the good stuff yet! Trust me, you all, there's a lot of it. A. Lot. At least another fifteen hundred to two thousand words. I figured, I'd post this half, type up the second, and post it within the next day or two. Now there will be five chapters instead of four. Five's my favorite number, anyway, lol.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Gah! I really hate computers, sometimes! Not only am I a writing tease, now I'm also a straight-up liar. Apparently, my cantankerous bitch of a laptop has been acting even crankier lately. Especially, it would seem, when it pertains to my word processor. I'd open the file (which took about five minutes), would type a paragraph (wait impatiently for the words to appear on the screen), save (took another minute every time, compared to its usual two seconds), and then after about half a page or so, it would freeze up on me and shut itself down. (It's in instances like these that I'm glad I'm a compulsive saver!) Do you have any idea what it's like, typing on someone else's computer, feeling as if they're reading over your shoulder the whole time? That's what it's been like this week. So, I apologize profusely for not updating as promised.

Music suggestions: 'Hangover' by Hey Monday, 'Light of the morning' by Band of Skulls, 'Love/hate heartbreak' by Halestorm.

Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek.

Perchance to Dream: The Conclusion, Part II

It may have been extremely cliché, not to mention a "ran into the ground", expression, but making out with Derek was inconceivably better than just sexually fantasizing about him. He seemed to be just as enthusiastically into her as she was to him, which surprised her. The way he skimmed his fingers across her skin as if she were a highly sought after treasure...the way his lips passionately moved over hers as if he needed her essence to breathe, she'd never actually considered how his...respectfulness of her could make her feel, how considerate he would be of her feelings, while making her lose her mind with his overattentive affections.

Of course, she found out real quick where he preferred to be as he flipped them back over after a few minutes of her being on top. And she wasn't just referring to top or bottom.

Her flannel sleep pants and underwear had been pushed down only far enough for Derek to slip his hand between her legs comfortably, just enough to expose her without restriction, but she was fairly certain she'd never felt more exposed as his hand crept at an impossibly slow pace from her stomach into the curls at the top of her sex. Something so forbidden had never enticed her more. Her preset rules about propriety and restraint had never really held much sway, concerning Derek.

Derek tended to have that effect on her. It was either adjust, or be left outsmarted.

Her inner musings must have shown on her face, because Derek stopped his hand just as he began to part her nether lips.

"What are you thinking?" Derek chided, his tone gentle and teasing as a smile pulled at his lips.

"I was thinking that what we're doing is wrong." Casey admitted truthfully, her eyes turning up to meet his.

He reared back as if she'd stricken him, his hand jerking away from between her legs and his expression morphing into something she'd never thought she could inflict on anyone.

Anticipating his reaction, Casey quickly latched onto his wrist and held it pressed next to her inner thigh. "You didn't let me finish." Casey reprimanded, a shy smile mixing with her exasperation. She moved his hand back to where it'd been previously, brushing his slack fingers over her mound.

"But I don't want you to stop. I want..." Casey said in a hushed tone, pausing as she pulled Derek's face closer to hers, averse to say the following words too loudly. The stricken expression on his face melted away, still slightly wary as he allowed her to pull him closer. Once he was face to face with her, she whispered the last few words against the side of his face. "I want to feel more than your fingers inside me."

"I..." Derek began haltingly, searching Casey's eyes with his mouth slightly agape. "Did...did you just talk dirty to me? I totally forgive you if you plan to keep talking like that."

Casey flushed and shifted self-consciously underneath him, settling further back into the mattress, but the Mona Lisa smile that graced her lips was unmistakable.

"Are you going to touch me now?" Casey asked, her tone an odd mixture of confident and timid as she bit her lower lip between her teeth and looked up at Derek with a hopeful expression. "I can tell you how I like to pleasure myself, if you'd like."

"Maybe later, princess." Derek murmured after a suffering groan, scraping his knuckles against her clitoris. Casey's hips instinctively flicked forward to increase the contact. "But right now, I think I'll wing it on my own."

Without any further procrastinating, he parted the heated flesh beneath his left hand and sank one finger inside her.

Around the time she began to daydream about him, she tried to imagine how his fingers would feel. Constant handling of a hockey stick, even with the proper padding, and being exposed to the cold and ice of the indoor rink had to leave an effect on his skin. She pictured them to be on the rough and dry side, not enough to scratch her skin, for she knew he always had a bottle of lotion in the bathroom and that it emptied out regularly enough. That meant he knew how to take care of his skin, at the very least, rudimentary.

As he touched her intimately, though, brushing his thumb teasingly over her clitoris and his index finger hooked inside her, sending tendrils of almost painful-like bliss throughout her veins, the last thing on her mind was the consistency of his skin. Rather, the tactile section of her brain was in overdrive, ecstatic that his whole body was touching her all over, grazing all along her sensitized skin.

"So...how am I doing?" Derek asked cheekily, smirking down at her infuriatingly as her body involuntarily writhed under his onslaught.

"I'll get back at you later." Casey tossed back, breathing in deep for a brief moment of calm to threaten him.

"I'm looking forward to it, princess." Derek replied affectionately, rubbing his other thumb across the straining peak of one of her breasts. Moving his hand off her breast to support himself above her, he leaned in to press his lips to hers.

Her legs laying open wide, the flesh at the apex of her legs throbbing with pent up euphoria, Casey started to whimper into his mouth as the pressure began to build to an unsustainable level. Her impending climax was so near, yet far enough out of reach that she almost batted his hand away to achieve the fulfillment of release on her own.

But then he spoke, his voice low and seductive in her ear, impossible to ignore. "I know you want me to hear those beautiful sounds you make when you come, in person."

Pleasure coiled tightly around his fingertips, and a sound crossed between a scream and a gasp escaped her lips as the restrained pressure unfurled through her abdomen. Her back arched off the bed and her eyes squeezed shut, shudders of a different kind wracking her body, Derek's name breathing past her lips repeatedly as her climax ebbed and flowed though her.

Pulling back reluctantly, Derek eased away from Casey's pliable body. He was rather unsuccessfully attempting to hold back a wide grin as he took in her glowing cheeks and elevated breathing. "I need to go get something before I take off any of my clothes." Derek commented in a rushed tone, explaining himself when he threw back the covers and hopped from the bed. He then dashed out of her room as if the hounds of hell were at his heels.

Casey barely had time to contemplate what he was doing or calm her racing heartbeat before he rushed back into her room, clutching a box of prophylactics in his right hand.

"What?" Derek questioned defensively as he dived back under the covers, Casey's unreadable expression throwing him off his game. He placed the box on the pillow between them as he curled into a ball and cuddled in close to Casey as tremors shivered through his body. "I bought them right before coming to uni. You never know what might happen at uni, right?" Derek finished with a suggestive tone, dragging one finger down the length of her chest to emphasize the nonexistent space between them.

"Yeah..." Casey trailed off slowly, agreeing, as she stared numbly at the box of simple rubbers on the pillow between their heads.

"This _is_ what you wanted, isn't it? I just thought that with all we're doing and what you said earlier that we'd...and I just wanted to be prepared and not have to interrupt the process of...even though I know both of us are clean, it's still a good idea to be safe about not getting pregnant or anything..." Derek rambled nervously, his hands gesticulating as he spoke. He silenced himself with a frown of sheer consternation, surprised by the verbal discharge.

Casey was usually the one that couldn't shut up.

"Wait." Casey piped up after a thoughtful moment. "You haven't...? But I thought that maybe...I mean, with Sally...you might have...you didn't?" Casey questioned in spurts, unable to put her thoughts together coherently either.

"No." Derek grumbled under his breath in reply. "We never went that far."

"And how did you know...?" Casey started, referring to herself as she poked him in the chest before turning it back to her own.

"C'mon, Casey, give me a little credit." Derek replied softly, placing a hand on her opposite shoulder as he leaned over her. "I know you better than you think. And I _do_ listen on occasion."

A low chuckle passed her lips as her gaze fell to somewhere between their closely pressed bodies.

"Okay." Casey finally voiced in a whisper, her eyes returning to his and sparkling determinedly.

"Okay." Derek echoed flatly, losing her train of thought.

Casey turned her head and snuck one hand from beneath the covers to pick up the box on her pillow. Derek's eyes widened before his entire demeanor lit up brightly.

Leaning in until his lips brushed hers, he cupped her cheek with one hand and whispered in a tone full of conviction, "I'm not going to disappoint you, Casey."

Staring deeply at each other, Casey finally broke the contact and tapped her knuckle against the box. "So how are we going to do this?" Casey asked, smiling widely from ear to ear.

"Do what?" Derek asked, taunting her.

Smacking him halfheartedly on the arm under the covers, Casey then skimmed both hands down to the hem of his shirt and tugged upwards.

"Oh...you mean are we gonna get naked, even though its freezing." Derek replied as if realization had just dawned. Derek let Casey pull his shirt up and over his head, but reached up and held on as she tried to throw it to the floor. "Might want that back after. It's really freaking cold."

Casey pulled the long-sleeved shirt back under the covers.

"What if _I_ want to wear it after?" Casey queried in a petulant tone, clutching it to her chest, toying with him in return.

"Then I guess we'll have to wrestle for it. See who wins." Derek retorted without hesitation, at the same time pushing the shirt in Casey's direction as he spoke.

Smiling victoriously, Casey put the shirt behind her. Turning back to Derek, she then smiled coyly and slid down, pulling the covers over her head.

Perplexed, and slightly panicked that she was skipping a few bases and fulfilling a fantasy he was too terrified to daydream about while conscious – her mouth opening and sinking around his manhood, her slender fingers teasing the other two-thirds of his manly trio– Derek held his breath until she resurfaced, her shoulders bare and her flannel sleepshirt arcing through the air.

Breath exhaling in a whoosh, Derek returned her impish gaze with something close to awe.

Casey was currently half naked from the waist up, and laying less that one foot away from him. He _had_ to feel her up. It was number three on his bucket list to complete before he graduated college...right after going down on her and being her first to make love to her.

"Can I...?" Derek asked in an unsure tone, pausing to look down at her chest.

Nodding affirmatively, Casey felt around for one of his hands and led it to her breasts.

"Actually, what I meant was..." Derek began to clarify, his left hand unerringly enclosing one breast.

Rolling her eyes, Casey reached out and pushed his head down before he could even finish.

"Wow, that went easier than I expected." Derek deadpanned playfully as he followed her coaxing and disappeared beneath the covers.

"Derek." Casey warned, only to have the words choked off as a moan took its place.

Derek's warm lips lingered on one breast, his breath tickling her as he opened his mouth around her nipple and lured it into his mouth with his tongue. His hand simply rested atop her other breast, kneading so slowly that she ached. She couldn't decide which was more tortuous: the light touch of his hand, or his mouth as his teeth closed around her taut nipple and tugged gently.

She shuddered when she felt him shift on top of her. However, a moment of confusion involving tangled limbs surfaced when she tried to trap him between her legs. His left knee had deposited itself in the empty space formed by her slightly parted legs and her pants pushed down to mid-thigh. Derek fell haphazardly to her opposite side, and the elastic in the waistband of her flannel pants cut painfully into her outer thighs as she'd attempted to open her legs enough to accommodate a fully grown man.

Needless to say, it was probably going to leave a mark. She needed to get her legs unencumbered as soon as possible.

Surprisingly enough, Derek didn't laugh. Not even a stifled chuckle passed his lips as his face still remained implanted in the curve of her neck. "We need to get at least one of your legs out of these pants." Derek commented against her neck, almost echoing her thoughts as he looked up at her with a serious expression.

"Start pulling the right side down." Casey ordered, taking charge of the task. The moment she felt him latch on, she began to slither her leg upward out of her pants.

Derek held on as her leg rose, bent out with her knee remaining nearly flat on the bed the entire way. As her foot crested at the edge of her panties, she reached down and held those open as well. She caught and held Derek's gaze as she pulled her leg free right under her armpit, noting that his jaw had unhinged slightly as she eased her leg back down into its fully extended position, sans clothing.

"You're practically naked under there." Derek mused in wonder, still slack-jawed as he held the covers up a few scant inches and attempted to peer through the blackness to her body.

While he was occupied, Casey reached for the box and peeled back one of the edges to expose the contents. Tearing a condom packet free, she then waved it in front of Derek's unblinking gaze, drawing his attention back up to hers.

"Do you think that maybe when it warms back up we could try...nevermind." Derek started to ask, cutting himself off as his brain caught up with his mouth and his eyes darted up to hers. He should focus on the whole _first_ time, not be planning out future encounters.

"No, go on...tell me." Casey encouraged curiously, urging Derek back on top of her, dropping her distracting hand to rest beside her head.

His gaze returned to her neck as he began to speak. "Do you think maybe we could...do it with your legs over my shoulders? Or perhaps just over my elbows?" Derek asked in a rush, stumbling over his words as his cheeks flushed red and he forced himself to meet her eyes. "It's just that you're so bendy, and I've always wondered...I mean, I just always pictured you..." Derek corrected himself, only to cut his rambling explanation short, his eyes shifting to the packet beside her face as he shrugged one shoulder nervously.

An amused smile tugged at Casey's lips, fighting it back by sucking her lips between her teeth. Attempting serious, Casey narrowed her eyes and stared at Derek with intense scrutiny. "Will we be on top of the sheets or under?"

Derek paused ambivalently, unsure of which answer was correct, and also slightly thrown that Casey was even remotely considering the idea.

"Whichever you prefer?" Derek finally conceded in a drawn out tone, forming the neutral answer as a question.

Casey tapped her index finger against her lips, affecting a deeply contemplative expression.

"I guess it would be alright to at least try sometime." Casey finally relented in a flat, conceding tone, shrugging her shoulders. "All variations. Just to see which one works best for both of us."

Derek almost choked on his own saliva.

"I believe you're still dressed." Casey prompted chidingly, reaching down and tugging at one edge of his pants in emphasis.

A smirk pulled at her lips as he rushed to comply.

ooonooo*ooouoooooo*ooozooooooo*

I _know_! I'm absolutely horrible! I said one thing, did another...and I _still_ haven't gotten to the sex yet. But really. Just look at how much detail I've put into the _foreplay_. Foreplay, people. This second part is already at approx. 3000 words again. I'm gonna need a lot of space for the final act, and I don't want to cram any more in here. I want to be..._colorful_, lol. Also, since I'm gonna be writing another chapter, what kind of resolution would you all prefer, aside from the obvious (wink, nudge)? More Dasey between the sheets time (for instance, that over the shoulders reference I alluded to), going home for a family visit (and introducing their updated relationship status), or something else completely? Also, obviously, since I'm absolute shit with promises lately, I'm not setting a specific two-day date like before...Just project happy, quick updating vibes my way, lol!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: Well, here we are at last, lol! Derek and Casey are finally about to get down to business, as it were. I'm thinking of doing an epilogue, instead of putting another scene after the sex. One, because I really, _really_, wanted to get this posted. And two...well, I haven't gotten beyond the sex yet. This chapter picks up, literally, right where we left of in the previous chapter. Enjoy!

Music suggestions: 'Can't breathe' by Fefe Dobson and Orianthi, 'You got me' by Colbie Calliat, 'Have you ever needed someone so bad' by Def Leppard.

Disclaimer: Life With Derek does not belong to me.

Perchance to Dream: Merging of Fantasies

Shaking his head to clear the fog, Derek then shifted back and forth as he wrestled his pants and boxers down his hips to his knees.

"Open it." Derek ordered in a low tone, his voice raspy as he looked past her to the condom packet clutched between her forefinger and thumb.

Closing her teeth around one edge of the foil, Casey slowly ripped it open, gingerly exposing the milky white circle inside.

Reaching up, Derek pinched his fingers around the condom and pulled it free of the packaging. Tenting up the tip with his other hand, he then closed his fingers around it and took it under the covers, rolling onto his back.

Casey avidly watched the path his hands took, biting her lip when they abruptly stopped at a larger tent, this one formed by his arousal for her.

"Are you doing it right?" Casey questioned after approximately five seconds, her eyes fixed on the bulge where his occupied hands were. "I remember how to apply it. They showed us in our sex ed course." Casey informed him primly.

"I was there, too, Case. I've got it." Derek replied in as offhand a tone as he could manage with his hand sliding around his shaft, guiding the condom into place as he held the tip a few centimeters above the head.

"Alright, it's on." Derek informed Casey a few seconds later, his hands falling to his sides. He then laid there stiffly, unsure of how to make the next move.

Casey mirrored his position, clasping her hands to her chest as her fingers twisted each other nervously.

"This is awkward." Casey admitted in a stilted tone, staring at the ceiling. Neither of them moved after her declaration.

"Maybe I should..." Derek said, turning his head to speak as well as gesturing a "rolling over" motion.

"Right." Casey finished decisively, nodding her head curtly and holding up the covers around her minutely. Her heart pounded in her chest wildly as Derek rolled and settled his frame on top of hers. They were both mostly naked - in the areas that mattered - and about to have sex. It couldn't get any more surreal. Her insides fluttered and twisted in anticipation.

"Casey, I..." Derek began, cutting himself off as his gaze skittered away from hers.

"What? What is it?" Casey asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as he hovered over her, indecision coming through clearly in the tenseness she felt straining his taut muscles.

"I just..." Derek began fitfully, restlessly pushing his fingers through his hair. The gesture brought his face closer to Casey's, and she sucked in a sharp breath. "I don't want to be a disappointment. To you."

"Derek..." Casey crooned affectionately, lightly trailing her fingertips up his bare torso until she reached his face. "You won't be a..."

"No, Casey. I mean like this." Derek interrupted shortly, meeting her eyes. He moved one hand underneath the covers and touched her bare outer thigh. "It's probably not gonna last very long, and won't be all that great for you. I just...I want to make you feel good, but I won't physically be able to this time."

Casey smiled warmly, and reassuringly brushed Derek's misbehaving hair out of his eyes. "That's alright. I'm waiting for you to catch up, anyway." Casey replied softly, a teasing glint in her eyes as she removed her hands from his face.

Placing one on his hip, she felt around with the other until she found his pulsing manhood. Fisting her hand around him gently, she urged him forward. With a low grumbling sound that she'd never heard from him before, Derek followed her coaxing and pressed into her.

"This is it. No turning back now." Derek said in a hushed tone, his tone slightly questioning as the tip of his penis pressed at her entrance.

In response, Casey's fingers clenched against his hip, squeezing the flesh right above his backside, at the same time tightening her fist around his shaft and flicking her hips forward. Releasing her grip on his penis, Casey affixed her other hand to his other hip and squeezed her eyes shut, the head of his penis jutting inside of her.

"Does it hurt?" Derek asked, his voice strained but concerned as he stared down at her.

Shaking her head negatively, she forced her eyes open. "Not exactly. It feels...weird." Casey attempted to describe, feeling as if her heart were going to pound right through her ribcage. Derek was inside her. _Literally_ inside her.

"Can I move?" Derek asked, his tone taking on a desperate quality.

"Just...try a slow, forward rocking motion." Casey supplied, her tone slightly analytical as she wriggled her hips uncomfortably. The motion caused him to slide in a couple centimeters deeper, and the discomfort felt vaguely like panic. She forced the feeling away. It was just an unfamiliar intrusion, and could only get better with familiarization. Something she hoped Derek would help her with. "The uncomfortable sensation will likely pass once you're fully inside me and I've had time to adjust."

Attempting to follow her instruction, Derek was able to execute one short, shallow thrust before pausing again, dropping his forehead against her neck and exhaling a frustrated breath.

"Casey." Derek breathed against her neck, his breaths already ragged. "My brain and my hips are having trouble agreeing right now, and my hips don't want slow and shallow. And I'm already most of the way to the finish line."

"Oh." Casey replied, unsure of how to respond. Sliding her legs up until her feet were firmly planted, instead of the slightly bent position they'd been in, Casey thrust her hips upward, Derek's penis piercing her maidenhood to come to a stop hilt-deep inside her.

A strained gasp escaped her lips and she winced, due more to surprise than pain, as a sharp, icy-hot kind of pain flared through her abdomen at the sudden, piercing intrusion. It reminded her of whenever she tried to stretch out after months of not dancing. The kind of pain that one expected, but could live with because you knew it was supposed to be there and would go away once you got back into the routine. Something slightly past a pin-prick, but definitely not at the knife stab other end of the spectrum.

Distantly, she heard Derek mumble a crude word against her skin, one that sounded vaguely like what they were about to be doing.

And then he was moving, the occasional helpless sound passing Derek's lips as his hips pistoned back and forth quickly. Hugging her arms around his back and hooking one leg around his backside, Casey clung to him as he bucked wildly above her. With every thrust, the uncomfortable feeling ebbed away and curiosity began to take hold. A foreign sensation that began to blossom with each stroke, a sense of urgency that had nothing to do with Derek's estimated time of arrival. Something that would come out of hiding with a little coaxing.

Taking her left hand away from his back, she eased her hand between their bodies, and touched herself. It wouldn't hurt to help herself along, right?

Pulling back minutely to read her face, Derek made a conscious attempt to speak.

"Are you...are you pleasuring yourself, Case?" Derek finally forced out, his voice strained and gravelly, unconsciously twisting his hips at an angle that wouldn't crush Casey's hand between them.

Was it even possible to masterbate and have sex at the same time?

Nodding her head affirmatively, Casey then bit her lower lip between her teeth, her entire body arching provocatively as his new angle, combined with her well-practiced fingers rubbing her clitoris in just the right way, ensured an orgasm was close at hand. Her hips rose and fell to pace Derek's harried thrusts, as desperate for release as him.

"Would you let me watch sometime?" Derek questioned, his breaths coming out in pants. His climax was close, he could feel it as his shaft swelled and other parts of his body tightened almost to the point of pain. His thrusts became short and succinct, scarcely pulling more than an inch out each time as his climax neared. And knowing that Casey was fingering herself, ensuring that she would get her own release, turned him on like nothing else.

"I've dreamt about it. Letting you watch as I ride you." Casey whispered in a sultry tone, kissing any bare skin she could reach between words. Her hand hooked around his shoulder, clutching tightly. "Watch me rub my sex as your manhood slides in and out of me."

"Oh God." Derek exclaimed, burying his penis deep inside her one final time. Exhaling a pleasured groan, Derek stilled above her, the condom collecting the aftereffects of his climax.

Breathless gasps fell from Casey's lips as she stroked her clitoris harder and faster, her orgasm tearing through her ruthlessly, the feel of Derek still inside her intensifying the sensations. Her lips parted in grasping sighs and her eyes grew wide, clinging to Derek's gaze, as well as his body, as hers trembled in ecstacy.

Derek collapsed partially off Casey, his limbs going boneless and unable to move him any further than that. He could feel Derek Jr. going soft, still fully sheathed within Casey, but couldn't muster the strength to care enough to pull out. Besides, from the lock her limbs had on him, she didn't plan to let him move anyway.

Casey. He'd just made love with Casey. Quite literally the girl of his dreams.

A face splitting grin spread across his mouth, hidden behind Casey's right shoulder. She could never know that she'd totally just rocked his world, a million times better than any fantasy. She'd never let him live it down. Of course, if things went according to plan, there were a lot more important things to worry about. Like her withholding sex to win an argument. Because, when that did happen, he'd never win an argument with Casey ever again. Especially when she said his name just the right way. He'd never hear it the same way again. It already made him sort-of hard just thinking about it.

"So...what happens now?" Casey asked after a few minutes of silence, when their heavy breathing calmed into a more relaxed pattern.

Derek rolled off of Casey, his manhood slipping free of its mooring. He pretended to really consider the matter as he pulled the spent condom from his shaft and deposited it in the wastebasket beside Casey's bed.

"We could always try one of those shoulder variations." Derek suggested, shrugging one shoulder as he curled into the fetal position, facing Casey.

"Der-ek, I'm being serious here." Casey complained half-heartedly, pulling a tissue from the box beside her bed and bringing it under the blankets to blot away the wetness between her legs. Moments later, she leaned over Derek to throw the red splotched tissue in the wastebasket. She balanced her chin on one hand, the other clasping her elbow as she leaned on his chest over him. Her rumpled hair cascaded around their heads, heating the air between them slightly.

"So was I." Derek returned, exasperation lacing his tone and his expression. "That box has ten condoms in it, and we've got lost time to make up for."

ooooxoooo*ooomooooo*ooowoooeooo

So, was the ending too abrupt? I thought it'd be nice to end on a light note, and save the fam episode for another chapter. Well...was it satisfying and worth the wait? I always enjoy writing Dasey, with their teasing banter and unresolved sexual tension! Now, in this regard, it is resolved. You're welcome, lol.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Here's an epilogue about them going home to the fam, the first visit as a couple. Technically speaking, this isn't the last chapter since I'm splitting it in half. It's the beginning of the end, rather. I have to say, that I really enjoyed writing this and all of your enthusiasm and feedback was fan-tab-u-lastic the whole way. Thanks.

Music suggestions: 'Halo' by Beyonce, 'Tell me where it hurts' by Halestorm, 'Start me up/livin' on a prayer' by Glee Cast.

Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek.

Perchance to dream: Coming home, Part 1

"Derek, no." Casey stated simply as they walked side-by-side up the narrow walkway from the driveway to the front door of the McDonald/Venturi residence.

"Casey." Derek uttered in an agonized tone, wrapping his arm around her waist. She shrugged it off and glared menacingly at him. "It's the reason why we're here. _I'm_ the one that argued we should keep it in the closet for the foreseeable future."

"Yes, well, I've changed my mind." Casey replied primly, raising her chin and folding her arms over her chest.

"But, Casey, we're already here. What are we going to say?" Derek argued logically, looping one of his arms through her tightly crossed ones.

Casey let the action go. For five seconds as she floundered for an acceptable response.

"That's what I thought." Derek crowed triumphantly. He then began to rub his hands together in a mischievous manner. "So, I think I should just plant one on you right after I ring the doorbell. I think that'll convey the message clearly enough. Even for my dad."

"Der-ek! You are not making out with me on the front doorstep with our parents watching!" Casey seethed, barely reining in the screeching tone that belied the rising panic she felt.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't." Derek challenged in a hushed tone, halting their progress about two feet from the front door, Derek's finger poised over the doorbell.

"They might make us find separate living arrangements." Casey supplied in a matter-of-fact tone, nodding her head curtly and meeting his eyes as she waited for his reply.

"Yeah, that would make our life difficult. Not to mention our unrestricted sex life." Derek admitted after a muttered curse, locking his jaw in frustration. On the drive over, he'd actually almost gotten used to the idea. Courage wasn't something that came easily, and letting it go once it was shored up was a major disappointment. Unfortunately, she'd thought of the one flaw he hadn't.

He wasn't ready to let her go now that he had constant, unrestricted, _mostly_ undenied access to her.

"Can I at least sleep in your bed with you tonight?" Derek asked, relenting begrudgingly.

"You'll have to wait until everyone else goes to bed." Casey replied, her tone warning as she smiled softly.

"I don't mind waiting." Derek admitted in a low tone, his breath teasing her ear as he leaned in close. He then nipped at her ear in a teasing manner. "Will you play with me under the covers?"

"Der-ek!" Casey exclaimed loudly, half exasperated and half turned on by the request.

The front door opened at just that moment, Casey yanking herself out of Derek's reach, with a familiar expression of indignation on her face. Both Edwin and Lizzie stared at the usual, yet ever unpredictable outburst from Casey. Derek shrugged his shoulders in a "devil may care" way, a mischievous smirk pulling at his lips as he turned his gaze to his younger siblings.

"Where's the party? You _did_ know I was coming home for the weekend, didn't you?" Derek demanded in a self-righteous tone, pushing his way between Edwin and Lizzie into the house.

Rolling her eyes and huffing at his rudeness, Casey's expression then morphed into a smile as she held out her arms to Lizzie.

"It's good to see you, Casey." Lizzie greeted warmly, meeting her sister's embrace halfway. Edwin retreated into the house to avoid being hugged.

"We decided to come home for a visit. It's just for the weekend." Casey explained as she released Lizzie and stepped over the threshold. Lizzie closed the door behind her.

Standing back away from the group as the rest of the family swarmed on Derek and Casey's unexpected arrival, Lizzie crossed her arms as Edwin came to stand beside her in a conspiring manner.

"They're together." Lizzie stated shortly. "Since they haven't yet openly admitted to it, _and_ since I'm in such a generous mood, I'll give you one last chance to recant on our wager." Lizzie offered in an offhand tone, glancing up to meet his eyes with a calculating stare.

Edwin snorted softly, mirroring her stance. "Not a chance."

ooozooooo*ooonooooo*ooocooooo

The door had barely shut behind Marti and the rest of the family on the way to their dinner reservation, that Derek and Casey forgone, when Derek set in on some one-on-one time with Casey.

"C'mon, Case. Everybody's gonna be gone for at least the next two hours." Derek argued, adding a dose of begging into his tone as he took her hand in his and gave her his best puppy dog face. Leading her over to his recliner, he sat down and looked up at her. "I'll let you do whatever you want."

"Oh, really." Casey stated flatly, disbelievingly, as she met his stare suspiciously. But she was relenting, she always did whenever it came to spending time with Derek in this new way.

"Of course." Derek agreed brightly, tugging her hand in his direction. "Besides, I just want to start here. We can take it upstairs after awhile if you really want."

"I dreamed about doing something like this." Casey murmured in a confessing tone, afraid of saying the words too loud.

"Really?" Derek asked, his voice going up an octave in surprise. "Did we...?" Derek attempted to ask, uncomfortable with saying any word related to sex in such an open space that was occupied on a regular basis by his dad and Nora.

Instead of answering his question, Casey directed a heatedly coy expression his way. "Tell me where it hurts." Casey cooed in a seductive doctoral voice, pouting her lips as she draped herself across Derek's lap. "I'll kiss it and make it better."

Derek shifted in his recliner, his jeans suddenly becoming very uncomfortable. Forcing back the victorious smirk, Derek put on his serious face and waited for Casey to make her own assessment, perhaps giving him a thorough once-over in the process. He was looking forward to playing doctor with her. They never had before.

"Aww...can't speak, can you?" Casey asked sympathetically after a couple beats, trailing a finger down his face, his neck, to his chest. Derek nodded his head pathetically. "Would you like it if I personally examined you?"

Derek nodded his head a little more enthusiastically, and Casey had to tone down a smile of her own. It had suddenly struck her that she'd never played this role before, despite her dreams of becoming one. She planned on taking very good care of this "patient", and enjoy every minute of it.

It was a good thing she was wearing a skirt. She was wearing leggings as well, but, well...those could be removed easily enough.

"Is the door locked?" Casey asked in a low tone, leaning in close enough to tickle his ear with every word.

"Yes." Derek reassured her in a rushed tone, deciding that one or two word answers would be appropriate.

"Well, then let's begin." Casey said in an analytical tone. Trailing both hands to the hem of his shirt, she paused and met his eyes. "I'm going to have to remove your shirt. And your pants. Is that alright with you?"

"Hell, yes." Derek replied emphatically, raising his arms over his head as he spoke.

Pulling his shirt over his head, Casey tossed it to the floor beside the chair and rose from her seated position. Painstakingly slow, Casey unhooked his belt and pulled it loose from his waist. It joined the shirt. Glancing up as her fingers nimbly pulled the button free and began to ease the zipper down, Casey smirked smugly at Derek's enraptured look, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth. Closing her fingers around the waistband at each hip, Derek's hips shot up from his seat before she could open her mouth to form the question. Raising an eyebrow in question, Casey tugged the blue jeans down his legs, leaving his boxers in place for the time being. A recognizable tent erected itself as the constricting jeans were pulled free. Derek choked back a groan of relief.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to make myself a little more comfortable as well before I begin the examination." Casey requested in a professional tone. Derek shrugged his acquiescence, watching her intently to see what she'd do next.

Reaching underneath her skirt, Casey carefully shimmied out of her leggings and underwear. Placing them on the rapidly growing pile of clothes, Casey emphasized the movement of separating her panties from the leggings. She caught Derek's visible swallow out of the corner of her eye and grinned to herself.

"Are you...naked underneath that skirt?" Derek asked in a gravelly tone, his hands automatically reaching out for her thighs as she came to stand directly in front of him.

"It will be a necessary component later on in the examination." Casey stated in her professional tone, folding her arms over her chest. "Unless you'd rather I not be that thorough?" Casey challenged haughtily, a corner of her mouth curling upward.

His eyes widened and he shook his head emphatically in the negative.

The thrill of increased chance of discovery heightened every nerve ending as he realized what Casey was about to do for him, and where they were about to do it. She was going to make love to him, right there, in his recliner. The blood remaining in his head pounded in his ears, in tandem with his ever hardening erection at the thought of Casey on top of him, in his all-time favorite chair.

"Would you rather I start from the top...or the bottom?" Casey asked neutrally as she leaned forward. Bracing one hand on the headrest, her other hand caressed his erection through his boxers.

"Are you...going to use your hands...or your mouth?" Derek asked inbetween harsh intakes of breath, attempting to sound as casual as Casey currently did.

"I _did_ say I was going to kiss whatever was hurting..." Casey supplied, her eyes not leaving his as her fingers snaked under the waistband of his boxers to stroke him. Derek inhaled sharply, his body bowing as her fist closed around his erection and spread the drop of moisture that had collected at the head of his penis. "And it would appear that you are suffering immense pain located in this area here enclosed in my hand. I'm going to have to take a closer look."

Clenching her legs together at the growing throb of desire from her own arousal, Casey knelt to the floor in front of Derek. Skipping over most of her original plan, she carefully eased his boxers over his erection and down to his ankles. Opening his knees enough for her to lean over comfortably, Casey cast a furtive glance over at the door. Derek caught her nervous look.

"You don't have to do any of this if it makes you too uncomfortable, Case. You know that." Derek stated reassuringly, reaching out a hand to tweak her chin up so he could meet her eyes.

Smiling with a mixture of softness and wickedness, Casey clasped her hand over the one holding her chin to remove it, let her hair fall over her shoulders, and ran her tongue up his length before closing her mouth around him.

Derek's head fell back bonelessly against the headrest as a loud groan of pleasure rumbled past his lips. This wasn't the first time Casey had gone down on him, but the sight of her head bobbing up and down, and the feel of her mouth and tongue stroking him intimately never failed to set him off in record time. Considering their location, this time wasn't going to be any different. He'd never had a girl go down on him before Casey, so he couldn't really be all that great a judge, but he would rate Casey an "exceeds expectations" on a ten-point scale every time.

He could feel her free hand inching towards the neglected twins underneath his erection when he decided it was time for decisive action.

"Casey, time to stop." Derek said, his tone bordering on pleading as he caught her wandering hand and tugged both of her hands in an upward motion. She followed without much complaint, lightly scraping her teeth along his length before her mouth released him. A hiss of pleasure escaped him as he coaxed her into a straddling position across his lap.

She openly smirked at his disheveled and unsettled appearance, wiping at one corner of her mouth, then the other, like a cat that got the cream.

She honestly hadn't been that far off.

"I'm thinking you'll need a glove for the final section of the exam." Derek stated in a serious tone, each of his hands closing over a firm rounded cheek underneath her skirt. Casey inhaled a sharp breath of her own as he teased a fingertip back and forth along the sensitive crease of skin at the apex of her thighs.

"A love glove?" Casey teased in her best Barry White imitation, unable to suppress the laughter in her tone.

"Is that what the professionals are calling them these days?" Derek asked in a mock serious tone, bringing his own wandering fingers back to neutral territory.

Casey giggled lightly as she shook her head at his teasing. Leaning over the side of the chair, Casey snatched up his jeans. Searching through its pockets, Casey found a condom in the right front pocket. Unwrapping the contents, she positioned the condom and unfurled it around Derek's erection.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching you do that." Derek admitted in a low tone, his voice deep and full of emotion.

Smiling softly in response, Casey then lifted the front of her skirt up and crawled up Derek's body until her entrance was poised at the tip of his erection. Dropping her skirt, Casey placed her hands on Derek's shoulders and began to lower her hips until they docked with his. Biting her lip, Casey closed her eyes and didn't move for a few moments, both adjusting to the intrusion as well as the sensations that came with it.

It always amazed her, being with Derek like this. They'd been together for a month, been in this position countless times, along with a few others, and yet, it hadn't come even close to boring or tiresome. It was probably too early in their new relationship to be thinking such a thing, but she was certain that life with Derek would never get boring. Especially if sex was involved.

Seeming to get impatient with her lack of movement, Derek leaned forward and nipped playfully at the sensitive skin beneath her right ear. Bringing one hand up, he tickled his fingertips beneath the hem of her sweater until his fingers found another soft mound and squeezed.

Arching into his touch, Casey began to subtly shift her hips into his, meeting the shallow thrusting of Derek's lower half. As their pace increased, the chair began to rock, giving an added, but not entirely unpleasant, wave-like motion to their lovemaking.

A low growl of frustration entered the cacophony of sounds reverberating off the walls as Derek yanked Casey's tight sweater over her head, readjusting his body lower in the chair while pushing Casey's bra up to expose her breasts. Pressing one hand to her back, Derek dipped his head and laved at one tightly beaded nipple.

In response, Casey cried out in ecstasy as one of her hands clenched almost painfully around the back of his neck, her rhythm faltering. The altered positioning of his penis rubbed against the no longer fabled spot inside of her, sending her spiraling into an orgasm so intense, so unquantifiably overloading, it bordered on madness. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her entire body tensed up like a bowstring and then snapped, waves of unending ecstasy pulsing through her as her body continued to move, automatically continuing the ride, seeking out her partner's corresponding release.

She didn't have to wait for very long, as a pronounced groan emanated from Derek, signaling his own climax. Her limp body collapsed onto his as his arms closed around her to gather her in close. Brushing her hair away from her face with one hand, Derek then gently pressed a kiss to her temple, his own breaths labored as he smoothed his free hand up and down her bare back.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that gets better every time." Derek admitted in a proud, but exhausted tone, a few minutes later.

Snuggling into his chest with her hands folded up between them, Casey sighed and laughed softly in agreement. "I think you're right."

oooonooooooo*oooeooooooo*oorooooooo*

End Part One. What can I say? I was struck with some..."explicit" inspiration, and I just had to go with it, lol. Part Two...the _end_ end...shall be posted within a couple of days. Worry not, it's already typed up, hence the splitting due to its oversized-ness. That's not even a word, but I'm going with it, lol. Thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: Well, this should be it. For a last chapter author's note, I'm not feeling very chatty, lol. For starters, anyway.

Music suggestions: 'Dirty little secret' by The All-American Rejects, 'Crazy for this girl' by Evan and Jaron.

Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek.

Perchance to dream: Coming home, Part 2

Casey was on her way back to her bedroom, having visited the bathroom at 3:15 AM, yawning widely and stretching her arms over her head, smiling from an invigorating makeout session and a couple hours of sleep. And, not expecting any company, she hadn't even remotely considered changing out of her boyfriend's choice for her pajama top.

That is, until Marti's bedroom door cracked open and the little sister in question appeared a few seconds later.

"Casey?" Marti grumbled curiously, her voice thick from sleep as she rubbed her eyes. Casey froze the same instant Marti roused herself and got a good look at Casey and her sleeping attire. "Are you wearing Smerek's hockey jersey?"

"I..." Casey floundered, her mouth gaping, no other sounds or explanation forthcoming.

The same could not be said for Marti. A high pitched squeal, akin to something Emily would emit, passed her lips as her eyes lit up gleefully, causing Casey to jump half a foot into the air and wince at the thought of the repercussions. At the same time, Marti started hopping up and down as she turned in a circle.

Approximately four seconds later, one second before the squeal ceased but she continued her happy dance, two loud thumps echoed through the house: one from above, and one from behind.

At least it proved one of her theories: all the Venturi men, not just Derek, slept precariously close to the edge of the bed.

Derek appeared first, yanking Casey's door open and looking ready to murder.

"_What is going on_?" Derek asked, putting emphasis on each individual word, his tone a mixture of sleepiness and irritation as he came to stand behind Casey. He visibly blanched when Marti stopped suddenly, her eyes wide as she pointed a finger at him emphatically, moved to Casey's door, and then returned back to him.

"Casey's wearing your hockey jersey!" Marti exclaimed in an excited tone.

"Wow, take it down a few decibels, Smarti." Derek said in a hushed tone, holding his hands out to make a vertical high to low gesture. "We didn't exactly plan on coming out so soon."

"Afraid it's a little late for that." Edwin commented, coming down the attic steps to collapse on the second to bottom step, leaning against the wall. "Besides, there's been an ongoing bet since you got into that fight with Sam."

"Told you they'd get together at college." Lizzie added observationally, making her presence known as she leaned against her now open door frame. "No parents, no hindering London-based, "how would it look" quandary, _and_ they're living together. _Alone_. I'd be more surprised if they hadn't."

"What's a decibel?" Marti inserted brightly in a lull of the conversation.

Derek and Casey looked back and forth in unison from one sibling to the next, unable to reply to any of their commentary as they went back and forth amongst themselves.

"We don't know that, it could have happened tonight, under our very noses. Hours, maybe even minutes, ago." Edwin rebutted, countering Lizzie. He then turned his gaze to the stupefied couple in question. "So?"

"Oh, you mean you actually want our input now?" Derek snarked sarcastically, grumpy at both their discovery as well as his lost sleep. There were very few things he interrupted sleep for. Most of them involved Casey, even predating the romantic aspect.

Edwin rolled his eyes.

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders as she stood from the door frame. "It's all cool by me, you two being together. It was only a matter of time. I don't need to know when it happened." Shutting her door behind her, everyone could hear her muffled, "But I _am_ right." before it clicked shut.

Edwin harrumphed after her but motioned for an answer.

"When the power went out last month." Derek supplied, crossing his arms over his chest to resist reaching out to pull Casey into his arms. She hadn't spoken a word since the encounter began. "_Not_ that it's any of your business." Derek finished on a threat.

Grumbling in low tones, Edwin stood from his relaxed perch on the steps and started climbing them back up to his room.

"I still want to know what a decibel is!" Marti demanded, a frown forming as she put her hands on her hips.

"It means turn down the volume on your enthusiasm." Derek supplied gently as an answer, leaving Casey's side momentarily to crouch in front of Marti. "Do you have a problem with me dating Casey?" Derek asked hesitantly, uncertainty in his tone. He heard Casey draw in a sharp breath behind him as she waited for Marti's reply as well.

"Of course not, Smerek. Don't be silly. You've always treated her just like mommy says boys treat girls they really like." Marti replied, sounding exasperated as she reassured him. Skipping past him, she started humming a familiar tune involving sitting in a tree and kissing as she retreated into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Well, that went better than I expected." Derek said on an exhale, the deep breath he'd been holding released on Marti's positive note.

"You'd think they would have let us in on the fact that we were supposed to be together." Casey murmured a few moments later, relieved at their acceptance but upset that she'd been left out of the loop.

"Casey, Casey." Derek taunted in a teasing tone as he sauntered up into her personal space. Clasping his hands on her biceps, he stared deeply into her eyes. "You know it was only out of self preservation that they didn't notify us of our romantic status until we admitted it to each other first."

"Alright, so maybe you're right about that. But..." Casey relented, yet building up steam for a counterpoint. Derek cut her off with the pass.

"How about we take this back to bed?" Derek whispered temptingly against her lips as a familiar light glowed in his eyes.

The argument faded from her mind as she nodded her acquiescence. Her brain did turn mostly to mush when he looked at her like that, but she still had a few strands of common sense still intact. He had another thing coming if he thought they were having sex with their parents and siblings all under the same roof.

Earlier that day when everyone had been out...well, that had been a different story.

The door settled shut behind them, the lock turning into place with a faint click.

ooocoooooo*oooooaooooo*ooosooooooo*

Unheard by the second floor occupants, a third thud sounded through the basement as Marti's screech startled George awake. Surprised and bleary eyed, George sat up from the floor with a shock, looking around him frantically.

"What is it? What was that?" George asked in a rushed tone from the floor, placing a hand on the bed to pull himself up.

"It's nothing, George. Go back to sleep." Nora replied in a relaxed tone, still half asleep. Rolling to face George, she patted the space beside her. George stood up, but turned to look towards the stairs.

"How do you know it's nothing?" George asked in a skeptical tone, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Because that was Marti's happy squeal. You mean you can't tell the difference?" Nora explained, finishing with a question as she opened her eyes to squint up at her husband.

"It's...after three in the morning." George said, deflecting his answer after pausing to glance down at the time. "First off, why is she out of bed? Second, what could she possibly be that happy about?" George asked as he climbed back into bed.

"She probably discovered that Derek and Casey are now a couple." Nora replied in an offhand tone, resting her hand on George's chest as he settled back in beside her.

"Oh." George uttered in reply. It took two seconds for the words to sink in before he shot back up from the bed. "What? How do you know? Nobody told me." George asked in rapid succession, finishing on a sullen tone.

"Now, don't get upset George." Nora said after a sigh, sitting up beside him and engulfing one of his hands with both of her own. "I found a condom wrapper in the recliner while I was cleaning earlier."

Nora's hand tightened around his when George's face turned red and he moved to get up. "Nora. Our kids are having sex. In this house." George exclaimed in an incensed tone when she failed to immediately release him, or storm up the stairs after him.

"I'm not happy about the idea either, honey, but we _did_ expect something like this to happen." Nora placated in a calm tone, pulling one of her hands away to rub George's arm reassuringly. "Just be relieved that it's happening now, when they're grown adults. They're not fifteen anymore, honey. That's not really our jurisdiction any more."

"I'm not letting this go." George grumbled after a moment, following Nora's motion as she pushed him back down onto the bed.

"And we won't." Nora agreed, laying on her side as she cupped her hand to George's face. "It's news to me that Casey made such a fundamental change in her ten-year plan. We _will_ get a few facts straight before they leave this house. We're just not going to do anything about it tonight."

"But Nora..." George complained in a disgruntled tone, bending one arm to place his hand over hers and move it to rest over his heart. "They could be up there right now..."

"George, really. Is that what you really think of my daughter? That she would do something like that with all her siblings and parents rooms away?" Nora scoffed in a warning tone, her tone advising George to tread lightly and word his response very carefully.

"Nora, sweetie...it's not Casey I'm worried about." George admitted in a subdued but belligerent tone, turning his head to meet her gaze in the dark.

"They'll be fine, George." Nora reiterated with a smile, patting his chest. "Just trust me, would you?"

"I can give him hell in the morning, right?" George consented reluctantly.

"Of course, dear." Nora agreed with an amused glint in her eye.

oooowoooo*oooeooooo*oooroooooo

Sorry for not giving you all an actual "confrontation" scene with Nora and George. It just would not rise to the surface in my mind! I couldn't leave the story with them _completely_ oblivious, though, so I figured this concession would be sufficient. I figured I could trust Nora to stay level-headed throughout the ordeal and pull George through without a enormous blow-up/freak-out. It sounds optimistic, something I'm more prone to writing than actually feeling (lol), but I think it's believable enough. Am I right? Any other closing remarks? This is it, for this story, so speak now if you have anything to tell me. Or not, it's up to you. Hope you enjoyed this rather extensive "one-shot that grew into a multi-chaptered monster" story!


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